Jakarta conference: Hasina co-chairs session

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has co-chaired a plenary session on the fifth day of the 2015 Asian-African Conference Commemoration in Jakarta.

Reazul Bashar Jakartabdnews24.com
Published : 23 April 2015, 04:34 AM
Updated : 23 April 2015, 05:17 AM

Thirty-four heads of state and governments of 106 nations of Asia and Africa have joined this six-day conference.

Hasina co-chaired the plenary session-4 on Thursday with Egyptian Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab. 

Presidents and prime ministers of countries like Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Phillipines, Pakistan, Libya and Cambodia addressed the session.

Hasina arrived at the BalaiSidang Jakarta Convention Center (JCC) around 8am local time in a motorcade from Hotel 'Borobodur Jakarta'.

After the plenary session-4 ends, Hasina is scheduled to have bilateral discussions with Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

She is also expected to hold bilateral talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala.

After arriving at Jakarta on Tuesday to attend this conference, Hasina spent a busy Wednesday.

She addressed the conference, prioritising fight against hunger and inequality and terrorism as key post MDG goals.

Hasina called for collective effort by Asian and African nations to achieve these goals.

Between conference sessions, Hasina managed to have bilateral discussions with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Myanmar President U Thein Sein and Qatar's Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Abdullah Zaid al- Mahmud.

Then she had bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Singapore Prime Minister Li Hsieng Loong.

At night, she attended the dinner hosted by the Indonesian President.  

The Jakarta conference is being held in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of Asian-African Conference.

The first Asian-African Conference was held in 1955 in the Indonesian city of Bandung in the midst emerging psychological cold war between two blocks - East and West led by the Soviet Union and the United States .

Later, the Bandung Spirit was turned into new Asian-African Strategic Partnership in 2005.

Hasina will return to Dhaka on Thursday night at the end of the conference.

 Her 51-strong entourage includes Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali, Foreign Secretary Mohammed Shahidul Haque, several top officials and journalists.

On Wednesday, leaders of the Asian and African nations at Jakarta  called for a new global order open to emerging economic powers and for easing out  the "obsolete ideas" of Bretton Woods institutions in the past.