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Historic conference ready to roll
A walk to remember: Crowded traffic is seen on Saturday on Jl
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span class="inline inline-center">A walk to remember: Crowded traffic is seen on Saturday on Jl. Asia Afrika in Bandung, where delegates attending the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference in the West Java capital will conduct the historic walk from the Savoy Homann hotel (on the right) to the Merdeka Building (on the left). JP/Arya Dipa
Preparations for the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference (AAC) are entering their final stages, with the organizing committee conducting a rehearsal on Saturday.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla oversaw the rehearsal at the Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport in East Jakarta, where heads of states and a majority of the summit's delegates are expected to arrive.
Kalla was joined by Presidential Chief of Staff Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan ' who is in charge of organizing the event ' State Secretary Pratikno and Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.
'I think everything is good at Halim. The only thing we need to be more concerned about is the management of air traffic, which should be accurate, because timing is really important,' Kalla said after visiting the airport.
Due to the heavy air traffic during the conference, and given the priority that would be given to airplanes carrying delegates, Kalla suggested domestic commercial flights be directed to land at the Pondok Cabe airstrip in South Jakarta.
Data from the Foreign Ministry show that senior officials from at least 77 countries, including heads of state from Brunei Darussalam, Jordan, Swaziland, China, Iran, Madagascar, Malawi, Myanmar and Namibia, are expected to attend the commemoration event.
Also planning to attend are leaders from Sierra Leone, Sudan, Timor Leste, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Gabon, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Rwanda, Singapore and Thailand.
There will be 25 ministers and three deputy ministers in attendance, in addition to several international organizations, such as the African Union, ASEAN, the Arab League and the UN.
The commemoration will be divided into two parts. The first will be held in Jakarta from April 19 to 23, and the second will be held in Bandung, West Java, where the Bandung Conference was held in 1955.
In Bandung, heads of state will join for a historical walk down Jl. Asia Afrika, reenacting a similar procession by state leaders 60 years ago.
In Jakarta, the city is bracing for massive traffic congestion, especially around Senayan, Pancoran, Kuningan and Blok M, where the majority of the events are set to take place.
The series of events will officially kick-off on Sunday morning.
Senior-level officials from participating countries will meet at the Jakarta Convention Center in Senayan, Central Jakarta, for preliminary discussions on the issues to be raised during the Asian-African Confeence Commemoration (AACC).
Asian and African ministers are then scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss outcomes before the final draft is brought to the heads of states and governments.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi is scheduled to kick-off the opening ceremony of Sunday's senior-officials meeting with a speech entitled 'The South-South and Triangular Cooperation.'
The commemoration is expected to produce three documents: the Bandung Message, the Declaration of Reinvigorating the NAASP (the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership) and the Declaration for Palestine.
According to Kalla, state leaders will also discuss efforts to empower the UN in order to counter the dominance of Western powers in the organization.
He said the discussion would be a response to what many deem the major powers' intervention in other countries, citing the example of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003.
'We have to agree to fight blatant intervention from one country into another,' Kalla said.
