Bandung Asian–African Conference
- Date
- 18–24 April 1955
- Category
- Politics & governance
- Region
- Global South (Southeast Asia, Indonesia)
- Era
- Contemporary
- Significance
The Asian–African Conference held at Bandung, Indonesia, from 18 to 24 April 1955 brought together delegates from twenty-nine newly independent and emerging states of Asia and Africa, representing more than half of the world's population.
Hosted by Indonesian president Sukarno and shaped by leaders including India's Jawaharlal Nehru, Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser, and China's Zhou Enlai, the conference articulated ten principles emphasising national sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, racial and national equality, and peaceful coexistence. Though it did not formally found an organisation, Bandung crystallised an assertive 'Third World' diplomacy independent of both Western and Soviet blocs, condemned colonialism and racial domination, and gave political voice to the decolonising Global South. Its principles supplied the moral and political foundation for the Non-Aligned Movement that followed. While Latin America was largely absent from Bandung itself, the conference's anti-imperialist framework strongly influenced later Latin American and tricontinental solidarity, and the region joined the broader non-aligned and Group of 77 currents it helped launch.
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Empires active in 18–24 April 1955
- Soviet Union1922 CE – 1991 CE
- French Colonial Empire (Second)1830 CE – 1962 CE
- British Empire1583 CE – 1997 CE
- Spanish Empire1492 CE – 1976 CE
- Portuguese Empire1415 CE – 1999 CE
- Solomonic dynasty1270 CE – 1974 CE
Related politics & governance events
- Construction of the Berlin Wall13 August 1961
- Founding of the People's Republic of China1 October 1949
- Establishment of Apartheid in South Africa1948
- Independence and Partition of British India14–15 August 1947
- Iranian RevolutionJanuary–February 1979
- Gorbachev's glasnost and perestroika1985–1991 (from 11 March 1985)
Also relevant
Further reading
The wider story
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