Bringing Asian and African delegations together
After the Second World War, independence movements made colonial rule, economic dependence and Cold War alliances shared diplomatic concerns. Burma, Ceylon, India, Indonesia and Pakistan organized the conference. Twenty-nine Asian and African delegations met at Bandung in April 1955. Sukarno’s opening address discussed colonialism, racial discrimination and war. Participants held different political systems and alignments. Political, economic and cultural discussions created a common meeting space, while journalists brought speeches and negotiations to wider audiences beyond the conference hall.
Negotiating a shared communiqué
Speeches and negotiations addressed sovereignty, self-determination, cooperation and security. Disagreement over great-power alliances and communism required discussion to find shared wording. Zhou Enlai, Nehru and other delegates participated in formal and informal contacts. The final communiqué opposed colonialism and racial discrimination and encouraged cultural exchange. Ten principles concerned sovereign equality, territorial integrity, noninterference and peaceful settlement. Technical assistance, experts and trade connected diplomatic relationships with the knowledge and resources needed for economic development.
Diplomatic connections after Bandung
Printed speeches and the communiqué circulated after the meeting, sustaining discussion among governments and civic organizations. Newly independent states coordinated positions at the United Nations and other forums on development and colonial questions. Later nonaligned diplomacy developed through further meetings and organizations, with participants adapting cooperation to different circumstances. Indonesia retained Bandung as an important diplomatic experience. Contacts among delegates, interpreters, journalists and organizers connected institutions across regions and provided practical experience in negotiating shared international concerns.