Interview: Bandung Conference boosts Afro-Asian countries' struggle for independence, says Vietnam's vice FM

The 1955 Asian-African Conference was a driving force of the struggle of more Asian and African countries for independence, said Vietnamese deputy minister of foreign affairs Ha Kim Ngoc.

In 1955, leaders and representatives from 29 Asian and African countries, most of them newly independent, attended a conference in Bandung, Indonesia, to discuss issues to promote economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism. Thus the gathering is also known as the Bandung Conference.

"The Bandung Conference set the foundation for cooperation between developing countries on the two continents in particular and in the world in general with the launch of the ten Bandung principles," Ngoc said in a written interview with Xinhua ahead of the 60th anniversary of the Bandung Conference on April 24.

"The Bandung Conference also served as a prerequisite for the establishment of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Group of 77 and South-South Cooperation," he added.

Ngoc said the conference adopted a final communique which emphasized the importance to strengthen economic and cultural cooperation, as well as experience sharing, among others.

The ten principles at the conference "inherited the Charter of the United Nations, becoming the standards which are widely recognized in international relations, and were followed in operating principles of the Non-Aligned Movement," he said, adding: "These principles were the source of strength to help Asian and African countries overcome many challenges."

"The principles of Bandung Conference remain relevant in the modern world, becoming a solid foundation in adjusting behavior among countries, helping prevent and resolve tensions and conflicts in international relations, and nurturing a stronger solidarity among Asian and African countries," Ngoc said.

Vietnam participated in the Bandung Conference in 1955, one year after the country's victory in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign which brought French colonization in Indochina to an end.

"For Vietnam, the Bandung principles have been instilled in Vietnam's diplomatic policy. Vietnam always actively and positively joins hands in the tasks of the international community, contributing to promoting the voice of developing countries," Ngoc said. Endi