What leaders will agree at Asia-Africa conference

JAKARTA, Friday (Reuters) - Leaders from 100 Asian and African countries began meeting in Indonesia on Friday for a summit marking the 50th anniversary of the 1955 Asia-Africa Conference, where the Third World sought to assert itself for the first time.

Following are key points the leaders will agree during two days of talks, according to a draft declaration obtained by Reuters.

** Leaders will declare the establishment of the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP), a framework to build a bridge between the two continents;

** The NAASP will emphasise the need for practical cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, tourism, technology and health;

** The NAASP will also address issues such as terrorism, armed conflict, weapons of mass destruction, and organised crime;

** To institutionalise the NAASP, Asian and African foreign ministers will meet every two years, heads of state every four;

** Leaders will express "abhorrence" that there is still no independent Palestinian state;

** Despite political gains in Asia and Africa, the leaders will declare there has not been enough advancement in social and economic spheres;

** Leaders will stress the importance of multilateral approaches to international relations and the need for countries to abide by international law, in particular the United Nations charter;

** As Africa and Asia represent most of the world's population, leaders will reaffirm the need for strengthened multilateralism in addressing global issues, including reforming multilateral institutions;

** Leaders will declare they are committed to meet internationally agreed targets for poverty eradication, development and growth;

** Heads of state are also expected to issue a separate statement on natural disaster preparedness and cooperation after such tragedies. This would cover areas such as an early warning system to protect against a repeat of the quake-triggered tsunami that smashed into 13 Indian Ocean nations last December, leaving 228,000 dead or missing.