BANDUNG, Indonesia, June 3 (Xinhua) -- An international seminar was held in Indonesia's city of Bandung on Tuesday to commemorate the 71st anniversary of the 1955 Asian-African Conference, or the Bandung Conference.
Speakers and guests at the event highlighted the values of the historic Asian-African Conference and Pancasila, Indonesia's founding state ideology, as they promote peace, solidarity, equality, and global cooperation.
During the seminar, Al Busyra Basnur, president of the Indonesia-China Friendship Association, said the Bandung Conference represents the international spirit of solidarity and cooperation, and Pancasila represents Indonesia's national values of unity and justice. "Both provide a strong moral foundation for international friendship and cooperation."
Basnur urged that to keep the Bandung Spirit alive and inspiring, as well as to serve as a guide for the international community, stronger and closer people-to-people relations and cooperation among countries are required.
For his part, Widya Setiabudi, vice-rector at Universitas Padjadjaran, said the Bandung Spirit reminds one of the most important moral conditions for cooperation among developing countries.
"Today, 71 years later, the world faces increasingly complex global challenges...Therefore, collaboration among nations is no longer optional. It is essential," the vice-rector said.
Centered around the theme "Revitalizing the Spirit of Bandung and Pancasila to Enhance Global People-to-People Cooperation," the one-day event was attended by more than 300 participants, including government officials, businesspeople, and scholars.
In April 1955, the Bandung Conference gathered 29 Asian and African nations under the flag of solidarity, friendship and cooperation, marking the awakening of the part of the world known now as the Global South. ■
