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Jubilee of the Bandung Conference recalled
Leaders of 43 Asian and African countries began the commemoration of the golden jubilee of the Bandung Conference with historic walks from Savoy Homann Hotel to Merdeka Building here on Sunday. Chinese President Hu Jintao is among the leaders present.
Bandung, the city of flower, is Indonesia's fourth largest city, with pleasant climate and lush surroundings. In 1955, 29 Asian-African countries gathered here to discuss independence, peace and economic prosperity. Asian-African leaders of new generation came to the place Sunday to commemorate the golden jubilee of the conference. The leaders walked in several rows to the Merdeka Building and took part in a brief rite there. They were greeted by young Indonesians in national costumes lining both sides of the street and singing and dancing. Security is tight with police and military officers blocking the way heading to the historic Merdeka Building in the West Java capital, some 150 km south of Jakarta. The commemoration is being held after a two-day summit in Jakarta that adopted the joint declaration on the New Asia-Africa Strategic Partnership and leaders' statement on tsunami, earthquake and other natural disasters. Welcoming speeches were given by leaders from Indonesia, the host; Nigeria, representing African countries; India, representing Asian countries; and Trinidad and Tobago, representing non-Asian- African countries.
Asia, Africa build new strategic partnership Leaders and officials from Asian and African countries have decided to build a new strategic partnership between the two continents, saying it is not directed against anyone. The new partnership was designed to help improve the life of Asians and Africans, they said at the Asian-African Summit which concluded here Saturday. Leaders have signed on a declaration on the New Asia-African Strategic Partnership, which will be officially endorsed as they visit Bandung, the venue of the first Asian-African summit in 1955, on Sunday. The partnership between Asia and Africa, which have a total population of 4.7 billion, will feature economic and socio- cultural relations apart from political solidarity, which was the focus of the Bandung conference. Summit Co-chairman and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono expressed confidence with the partnership, saying "we will create in the years ahead a legacy of socioeconomic and cultural development to future generations of Asians and Africans". A business summit and an Asian-African trade fair held on the sidelines of the meeting put weight on the economic dimension of the gathering. Susilo hailed the declaration of the partnership as "a milestone in history," saying such a relationship will serve as a bridge between Asia and Africa for the betterment of their peoples ' interests in meeting various challenges in today's world. Delegates from African and Asian developing countries have complained of problems like poverty, globalization and underdevelopment, calling for joint efforts to address them. Answering questions at a press conference at the end of the two- day meeting, both Susilo and another co-chairman Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa, stressed that the partnership is not against anyone. Asked if the multilateralism advocated by the leaders is targeted against unilateralism by certain countries, Susilo said " the spirit of the summit is not to confront, but to connect," adding that the partnership will serve to facilitate exchanges and cooperation within the two continents and with other parts of the world for the benefit of Asians and Africans. Mbeki pointed out that "the partnership is not directed against anyone". He said the conference was a success as reflected by the massive attendance and the high level of representation in the gathering. Leaders and representatives from 89 Asian and African countries out of 106 countries on the two continents have participated in the summit plus chiefs of world and regional organizations, including UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The number of Asian and African countries attending the summit is compared with the 29 countries in the previous one held in Bandung, a town about 180 kilometers southeast of Jakarta. The presence of about 50 leaders at the conference bespoke the high level of political attention attached to the meeting, Mbeki said. Mbeki said another achievement of the summit is that the leaders have decided on the follow-up of the Asian-African conference. They agreed that such a summit will be held every four years together with a business summit, and a foreign ministerial conference every two years to discuss cooperation between the two continents. The summit, with a theme to reinvigorate the Bandung Spirit, has blamed a lack of mechanism for a failed follow-up of the historic meeting. The Bandung Spirit, with the core principles of solidarity, friendship and cooperation, guided the fight by newly independent countries against colonialism and hegemony in the world at the time and led to the birth of Non-Alignment Movement. Egypt and Japan have volunteered to host the next ministerial meeting in 2007 and South Africa, who first put forward the idea of re-convening of the Asian-African summit, is asking to host the next one in 2009, according to Susilo. The leaders also signed a joint statement on the two continents ' cooperation on natural disasters like tsunami and earthquake. |
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