 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Fifty years ago prominent leaders from 29 Asian and African nations, including India's Jawaharlal Nehru, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai and Pakistan's Mohammad Ali Jinnah, met in Bandung in Indonesia to form the Non-Aligned Movement.
On Sunday, leaders from 94 countries, including Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Chinese premier Hu Jintao and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, will meet at the same grand classic colonial building that gave birth to the principles of NAM.
The Jakarta Post, listing the legends of the 1955 and the leaders to watch at the 2005 summit mentioned Nehru and Singh.
"India's first prime minister drafted the document that evolved into the Bandung conference's 10-point principles. They embodied Nehru's passion for a non-aligned foreign policy and called for the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means," the Post said.
The other legends featured included Sukarno of Indonesia, Zhou Enlai of China, Gamal Abdul Nasser of Egypt and Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
The commemoration of the golden jubilee of the Asian African Conference of 1955 in Bandung will begin with a historical walk by heads of states and presidents as well as state representatives from 94 countries.
Nehru and other leaders too had walked a distance of about 50 metres from the 19th century Hotel Savoy Homann to Gedung Merdeka.
The leaders will observe a moment of silence after the address by Indonesian president Susilo Yudhoyono in memory of leaders who were in Bandung in 1955. They will then sign the New Asian African Strategic Partnership.
Later, they are expected to plan Asian-African trees at the Tegal Lega Garden, 5 km from the Merdeka.