PM, Kadirgamar leave for Afro-Asian Summit

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar will attend the Golden Jubilee of the Bandung Conference of Non-Aligned Nations representing Sri Lanka.

The Afro-Asian Summit - 2005 and the Golden Jubilee commemoration of the Asian-African Conference 1955, will commence tomorrow, a press release from the Prime Minister's Office said.

It will take place in Jakarta on April 22 - 23 and in Bandung on April 24 with the participation of heads of state from Afro-Asian countries.

The theme of this year's summit will be the Invigoration of the Bandung Spirit Towards a New Afro-Asian Partnership', sources said.

Afro-Asian countries inaugurated the Bandung Conference in 1955 at a time they were seriously concerned about losing their rights, sandwiched between the two major power blocs, West and the East.

This year, the Summit is considered to be very significant as it would coincide with the Golden Jubilee of the Non-Aligned Movement.