A seminar was held in Hanoi on May 31 to review 62 years since the Bandung Conference took place and the conference’s role in promoting Asia-Africa cooperation.
The seminar is held in Hanoi on May 31 to review 62 years since the Bandung Conference took place and the conference’s role in promoting Asia-Africa cooperation
The function was held by the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and the embassies of Venezuela, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Myanmar in Vietnam. Participants included representatives of the Foreign Ministry, some member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), and international organisations.
Opening the seminar, Deputy Director of the academy Nguyen Viet Thao noted the Bandung Conference was held from April 18 to 24, 1955, in Bandung city of Indonesia with the participation of 23 countries from Asia and six others from Africa. It was a milestone in the formation of the NAM, which gathers 120 member countries and 17 observer nations at present.
Vietnam took part in the Bandung Conference and has continually made active and responsible contribution to the promotion of peace, cooperation and development in the region and the world, he noted.
He added as a member of ASEAN, the NAM, and many important international institutions such as the UN Human Rights Council and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, Vietnam has been actively and effectively working for the sake of regional and global peace, cooperation and development on the basis of the UN’s fundamental principles and the 10 principles of the Bandung Conference.
To Anh Dung, Assistant to the Foreign Minister, said the Bandung principles were combined in Vietnam’s foreign policy, in which the country prioritises the intensification of the friendship, solidarity and cooperation among Asian and African countries.
In reality, Vietnam’s relations with Asian and African nations have been growing in politics, economy-trade and culture. The country pledges to continue actively contributing to global peace, cooperation and development, Asia-Africa cooperation, and the NAM, Dung added.
At the seminar, participants discussed the Bandung Conference’s values and contributions to the national liberation movement and the struggle for independence.
Venezuelan Ambassador to Vietnam Jorge Rondon Uzcategui said the decisions made at the Bandung Conference shaped the NAM and facilitated this movement’s access to different international forums, thus helping to solve issues in the member countries, such as not interfering in other countries’ internal affairs, increasing UN cooperation, democratising international relations, and boosting socio-economic development.
Many attendees said protecting and solidifying national independence are always the top goal of the NAM. The protection of national independence now covers not only sovereignty and territorial integrity but also other issues such as the right to selecting a development direction, preserving traditional cultural values and identities, and having equal treatment in international relations.
Fighting for national independence and equalisation of international relations remains a main trend in the NAM’s activities nowadays, they added.
VNA
