African, Asian Leaders Vow To Work Together

Jakarta - State leaders of countries in Asia and Africa wrapped up a landmark summit between the two continents in the Indonesian capital Saturday, vowing to work closer together to overcome the challenges of today's globalised world.

The meeting is also a 50th commemoration of the first summit, called' the Bandung Conference. Those meetings, held as some countries of the southern hemisphere were still struggling for independence from their colonisers, paved the way for the Non-Aligned Movement of the Cold War.

His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, among the leaders from Asian and African countries as well as representatives from outside the two continents, were scheduled Saturday to discuss ways to build on that partnership and make it relevant to contemporary times.

"Countries in the two Asian and African continents have become a major part of the world cooperation, and this cooperation constitutes a key to face the future," said Tanzanian Vice President Ali Mohamed Shein in remarks to officials from over 100 countries, including over 40 heads of state and government, at the summit.

The summit concluded with the release of the declaration on the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP), which aims to boost political, economic, and socio-cultural cooperation, by reaffirming the so-called Ten Principles of the Bandung Conference and expanding them to make their partnership relevant for contemporary times.

"The 1955 Bandung Conference remains as a beacon in guiding the future progress of Asia - and Africa," according to a copy of the declaration.

"We recognise that the current global situation and the prevailing conditions in Asia and Africa necessitate the need to actively pursue a common view and collective action to ensure the equitable sharing of the benefits of globalisation," the declaration said.

The partnership declaration calls for nations to work together to address-issues that threaten the security of the region, such as armed conflict, weapons of mass destruction, transnational organised crime and terrorism.

The partnership declaration also reaffirms nations' commitment to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

"We remain steadfast in our support for the Palestinian people and the creation of a viable and sovereign Palestinian state," the declaration said.

An expected meeting on Saturday between Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Chinese President Hu Jintao, talks between North and South Korea and discussions between the military leader of Myanmar and members of the international community continued to grab much of the attention from the summit for a second day in a row.

Koizumi and Hu Jintao were set to diffuse recent tensions in a bilateral meeting Saturday night over a number of historic issues, which have driven relations between the two countries to their lowest level in three decades.

The details of the meeting had not been announced, but Koizumi confirmed the meeting on Friday and a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said the two sides would hold a meeting Saturday night.

"I hope the meeting between the two leaders will help reduce the temperature a little bit," UN Secretary General Kofi Annan told reporters at a press briefing during the summit.

"These are mature nations and have wise leaders and I hope between the two of them, they will be able to get relations back on track," he said. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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