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Global stability to be key focus at Asian-African Conference

JAKARTA — Security will be one of the main areas of focus at the coming Asian-African Conference (AAC), said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, adding that special sessions to discuss the situation in Yemen, Syria and the South China Sea would be held.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (right) being appointed an honorary member of the Special Forces by Commander General Moeldoko in Jakarta on Thursday. 
Mr Widodo feels Bandung is 95 per cent ready for the event. PHOTO: REUTERS

Indonesian President Joko Widodo (right) being appointed an honorary member of the Special Forces by Commander General Moeldoko in Jakarta on Thursday.
Mr Widodo feels Bandung is 95 per cent ready for the event. PHOTO: REUTERS

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JAKARTA — Security will be one of the main areas of focus at the coming Asian-African Conference (AAC), said President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, adding that special sessions to discuss the situation in Yemen, Syria and the South China Sea would be held.

“There are issues in Asia and Africa that require immediate attention. We need global stability. We need global justice. That’s what we are advocating for at the conference,” the President said as he inspected preparations for the AAC.

A total of 79 foreign delegations have confirmed their attendance for the AAC — to be held in Jakarta and Bandung from tomorrow to Friday — including 28 heads of state and government.

Member nations of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) are scheduled to stage a meeting at the AAC to discuss conflicts in the Middle East, Vice-President Jusuf Kalla said on Wednesday.

He added that Mr Widodo had spoken to world leaders by phone, including Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which they had agreed that peaceful resolutions to conflicts should be sought during the conference.

Among those confirmed to attend are Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Based on a Japan Times report published on Monday, Mr Abe said Tokyo would use the conference to make further contributions to development in Asia and Africa.

Mr Xi’s attendance, meanwhile, is meant to show the Chinese government’s intentions to contribute directly to maintaining the spirit of the 10-point “declaration on promotion of world peace and cooperation” produced at the end of the 1955 conference, said Chinese Ambassador to Indonesia Xie Feng.

Observers have high hopes that the 60th-anniversary commemoration of the first AAC summit held in Bandung in 1955 can produce significant outcomes — from a concrete road map for an independent Palestine to a higher geopolitical stature for countries from the two continents.

The Asian-African Summit, which will feature heads of state and government, is scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday at the Jakarta Convention Center, while a ceremony to commemorate the 1955 conference will take place in Bandung the following day. It will include a walk by leaders down Jalan Asia-Afrika in the West Java capital to retrace a similar procession by the leaders of 60 years ago.

The anniversary conference is also expected to conclude with two other declarations — the Bandung Message and the Declaration of Reinvigorating the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership. Both are expected to redefine and bolster ties and partnerships between Asian and African nations.

The 60th-anniversary commemoration of the Bandung Conference will also feature a host of other events, including the Asian-African Business Summit, a “smart city” summit, student conference and carnival — all to be held in Bandung. “I see in general that the city is about 95 per cent ready,” Mr Widodo said as he toured Bandung on Thursday.

The conference will issue three declarations, said Indonesian Foreign Ministry’s policy development and studies centre head Darmansjah Djumala.

The first will be a declaration to revitalise the 1955 summit’s 10 principles, also known as the Bandung Spirit, which include visions of freedom, human-rights equality and cooperation, among others. The second declaration will involve the strengthening of new partnerships among Asian and African nations.

“Asian and African countries will also issue a declaration to support the creation of an independent Palestinian state,” Mr Djumala said during a seminar in Bandung on Tuesday.

Palestinian Ambassador to Indonesia Fariz Mehdawi welcomed the call of support, stressing that Palestine’s continued lack of independence is unfinished business for the AAC. He added that the conference had inspired nations from Africa and Asia to fight for independence.

“But here we are. We still have Palestine struggling to get out of colonialism,” he said. THE JAKARTA GLOBE

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