60th Anniversary of the Asia Africa Conference of 1955 Celebrated in Bandung April 2015

In April, 1955, representatives from twenty-nine governments of Asian and African nations, many newly independent from colonialism,  gathered in Bandung, Indonesia to discuss peace and the role of the Third World in the Cold War, economic development, and decolonization. The core principles of the Bandung Conference were political self-determination, mutual respect for sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, and equality. These issues were of central importance to all participants in the conference, most of which had recently emerged from colonial rule.

The governments of Burma, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka co-sponsored the Bandung Conference, and they brought together an additional twenty-four nations from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The delegates themselves were among a “Who’s Who” of the post-colonial Independence Movement in South & SE Asia and Africa, including Sukarno of course, President of Indonesia, Jawaharlal Nehru Prime Minster of India and his daughter, Indira Gandhi, Sir John Konttalawala of Sri Langka, Muhammed Ali of Pakistan,  Prince Norodom Sinahouk of Cambodia, U Na of Burma, General Abdel Nasserof Egypt, Chou En Lai of China and others .The delegates built upon the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, worked out in negotiations between India and China in 1954, as they sought to build solidarity among recently independent nations. This year marks the 60th Anniversary of this historic Conference. The events in Bandung will culminate in a cultural exhibition, celebrating the unity and diversity, to quote the national motto, among the varied nations represented.