I

ndonesia hopes the 60th anniversary of the Asian-African Conference Commemoration (AACC) will lead to the establishment of a permanent forum on both continents, an apparent attempt to counter critics who worry the events will conclude with few concrete achievements.

The proposal to create such a permanent forum was said to garner a positive response during the Asian-African Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) on Sunday, the summit'€™s kick-off event.

'€œThat particular point was not rejected by SOM members, meaning it may be moved forward at the Asian-African Ministerial Meeting on Monday,'€ Foreign Ministry spokesman Armanatha Nasir said.

The commemoration is expected to produce three documents: the Bandung Message, the Declaration of Reinvigorating the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP) and the Declaration for Palestine.

'€œThe specific proposal to establish a permanent forum for Asian and African nations was mentioned in the second document,'€ he said.

'€œWe initially wanted to have the forum set at the highest possible level, but the meetings in New York concluded it should begin with a forum of minister-level officials,'€ Armanatha said, adding that biannual meetings had been a part of Indonesia'€™s proposal.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said Indonesia would underline the importance of South-South and Triangular cooperation for developing countries during the summit.

'€œGrowing together is a must. South-South and Triangular cooperation are our tools to growing and developing together,'€ she said, adding that such cooperation could help minimize development gaps between countries.

Sunday'€™s SOM lasted later than planned, with officials poring over drafts of the three documents. Officials broke at 6 p.m. and resumed discussions at 8 p.m.

'€œThe document on Palestine went relatively smoothly. There were at least five paragraphs that were intensely discussed. Two of them were in the Bandung Message document, and the other three were related to the NAASP,'€ Armanatha said.

He declined to elaborate on the content of the debate-stirring paragraphs, but claimed there were no additional paragraphs proposed by SOM members, nor proposed deletions.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi held bilateral meetings with her seven counterparts, namely ministers from the Solomon Islands, Fiji, South Africa, Papua New Guinea, Iraq, Vanuatu and Nepal.

Also on Sunday, Indonesia and Norway announced an agreement to enhance triangular cooperation to help boost development in war-torn Afghanistan.

'€œWe are proud of the cooperation we have with Indonesia, a country that I think is a superpower in one area: pragmatism in tolerance,'€ Norway'€™s ambassador to Indonesia, Stig Traavik, said.

Outside the venue, popular Indonesian rock band Slank performed a concert themed '€œProsperity and peace without drugs: No more drugs in Asia, Africa or the World'€, at Central Jakarta'€™s National Monument (Monas) park.

Country leaders, including delegations from Angola, Russia, and South Africa, began trickling into Jakarta on Sunday, arriving at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in East Jakarta.

According to the Foreign Ministry, 33 heads of state and heads of government, as well as representatives from 77 countries, have confirmed their attendance at the conference, which will be held in Jakarta and Bandung, West Java, from April 19 to April 24.

Among the heads of state and government who are confirmed include those of Brunei, China, Iran, Jordan, Madagascar, Malawi and Swaziland.

Other leaders confirming their presence are from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Gabon, Malaysia, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Palestine, Singapore, Sudan, Thailand, Timor Leste, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.