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Asian, African leaders reenact Bandung walk
Historical walk: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Joko Widodo (front row, center) wave to the crowd as, along with other Asian and African leaders, they lead the reenactment of a historic 1955 walk along Jl
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Historical walk: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Joko Widodo (front row, center) wave to the crowd as, along with other Asian and African leaders, they lead the reenactment of a historic 1955 walk along Jl. Asia Africa to conclude the 60th Asian-African Conference Commemoration (AACC), outside the Savoy Homann Hotel in Bandung, West Java on Friday. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo) (front row, center) wave to the crowd as, along with other Asian and African leaders, they lead the reenactment of a historic 1955 walk along Jl. Asia Africa to conclude the 60th Asian-African Conference Commemoration (AACC), outside the Savoy Homann Hotel in Bandung, West Java on Friday. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
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span class="caption">Historical walk: Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indonesian President Joko Widodo (front row, center) wave to the crowd as, along with other Asian and African leaders, they lead the reenactment of a historic 1955 walk along Jl. Asia Africa to conclude the 60th Asian-African Conference Commemoration (AACC), outside the Savoy Homann Hotel in Bandung, West Java on Friday. (AFP/Bay Ismoyo)
Several heads of state and government from Asian and African nations performed a Bandung Historical Walk in the West Java capital on Friday, to reenact a similar walk performed by dozens of leaders from both continents during the 1955 Asian-African Conference.
The reenactment was part of a series of events to commemorate the 60th Asian-African Conference Commemoration (AACC), which had been held since Sunday.
Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo walked in the front row, with Chinese President Xi Jinping on his right and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to his left. All three were accompanied by their spouses.
Also in the front row were Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla and his wife, Mufidah Jusuf Kalla, as well as former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is also the daughter of the initiator of the 1955 Bandung Conference, former president Sukarno.
They each wore their national attire, in diverse patterns and colors, and were warmly greeted with applause and cheering from crowds along Jl. Asia Afrika.
They repeated the 100-meter route performed in 1955 from the Savoy Homann Hotel to the Merdeka Building where the event was held.
A parade of marching bands played traditional Sundanese songs, while traditional dancers also performed on the street.
As many as 21 heads of state and government attended the 2015 Asian-African Summit in Jakarta on Wednesday and Thursday.
Some of them, however, left Indonesia early, skipping the historical walk and other related events in Bandung. They included Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Jordan's King Abdullah II, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Brunei Darussalam's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
"The absence of these leaders in Bandung does not deduct from the important message the events will carry," AACC spokesman Yuri Thamrin said on Thursday.
According to Yuri, the AACC decided not to let VVIP delegates use land transportation from Jakarta to Bandung due to security reasons.
A motorcade carrying the delegations from Bandung's Husein Sastranegara airport to the Savoy Homann Hotel was greeted by thousands of students who lined the streets.
After the historic walk, the delegates gathered at the Merdeka Building where Jokowi, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Myanmar President Thein Sein delivered speeches.
The summit in Jakarta produced three documents, namely the Bandung Message; the Declaration on Reinvigorating the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP); and the Declaration on Palestine.
The Bandung Message was also signed on Friday at the Merdeka Building, by Jokowi as the host, as well as Swaziland's King Mswati III representing Africa and China's Xi representing Asia.
In a press statement on Thursday, Jokowi declared April 24 as Asia-Africa Day, as well as naming Bandung as the Asian-African Solidarity Capital.(+++)
