Burma’s president Thein Sein is in Jakarta to attend the 2015 Asian-African Conference (AAC).
Joining the president’s delegation are Information Minister Ye Htut and the newly appointed Information Permanent Secretary Tint Swe, according to the Ministry of Information.
The conference aims to develop inter-regional partnerships and promote economic development. This year’s events are come under the theme of “Strengthening South-South cooperation to promote world peace and prosperity”.
The AAC was first held in Indonesia’s Bandung in 1955, giving the event its alternative name, the Bandung conference, organised by Burma, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) A celebration of six decades of the event will take place at the culmination of the summit on 24 April. More than 100 international representatives were invited to participate in this year’s summit and commemoration activities.
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At the first Bandung conference, the focus was on whether Soviet policies should be officially rejected along with Western colonialism. A ten point declaration was adopted, including the upholding of human rights and the ideals of the United Nations, respect for national sovereignty, and the “recognition of the equality of all races and of the equality of all nations large and small”.
At the 2005 conference, a Declaration on the New Asian African Strategic Partnership was signed, which aimed to signal a new era of cooperation based on the three pillars of political solidarity, economic cooperation, and socio-cultural relations.
