As a critical concept, the Global South is often associated with the non-aligned

movement, an intergovernmental development organization that emerged in after the

series of decolonization that followed the World War II. The movement represents the
interests and aspirations of developing countries which first emerged in the Asian-
African Conference held in 1955 in Bandung, Indonesia. The conference, now
commonly called Bandung Conference‘ was convened by Ruslan Abdulgani, Minister of
Foreign Affairs Indonesia and was organized by Indonesia, Myanmar (then Burma),
Pakistan, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) and India ( Fakhri, Reynolds, 2017). The conference
aimed were to promote an Afro-Asian economic and cultural cooperation and oppose
forms of colonialism or neo-colonialism by any nation.

The Participant Countries of the Asian-African Conference

 Five sponsor countries

 Twenty-four countries accepted the invitation

 Only one country refused the invitation

The major leaders who participated the event

Prime Minister of Burma U Nu (1907-1995)

- Leading Burmese statesman and nationalist politician.

- First Prime Minister of independent Burma

- Proponent of democracy for Myanmar until his death.

Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964)

- Indian independence activist

- First Prime Minister of India, as well as a central figure in Indian politics both before
and after independence.

- India's longest-serving prime minister.

 President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918-1970)

- Egyptian army officer who served as prime minister (1954–56) and then president
(1956–70).

- Egyptian politician who served as the second President of Egypt from 1954 until his
death.

Premier and Foreign Minister of China Zhou Enlai (1898-1976 )

- First Premier of the People's Republic of China.

- Served as the Chinese foreign minister advocating peaceful coexistence with the
West after the Korean War.

Prime Minister of Indonesia Ali Sastroamidjojo (1903-1975)

- Eighth and tenth Prime Minister of Indonesia and also the Permanent
Representative to the UN.

- Appointed as the President of the Con- ference and Head of Political Committee.

Representative of the Philippines

General Carlos P. Romulo (1898-1985)

A Filipino diplomat, statesman, soldier, journalist and author.

Objectives of the conference

The main objectives of the Bandung Conference:

o Promotion of economic and cultural appreciation.

o Protection of human rights and the principle of self determination.

o A call for an end to racial discrimination.

o Reiteration of the importance of peaceful coexistence.

The core principles of the Bandung Conference:

o Political Self Determination

o Mutual Respect for Sovereignty

o Non Aggression

o Non interference in internal affairs

o Equality

Significance of the event to the global south

The Bandung Conference promoted solidarity in developmental policy and political

decisions among the countries in the Global South (African and Asian) through the
emerging Non-Alignment Movement. This grouping later constituted the foundation of
the group of 77 in the United Nations.
Legacies of the conference

- In the six decades after the 1955 Bandung Conference that gave rise to the
“Bandung Spirit” of South-South cooperation, decolonization has for the most
part taken place, with most developing countries now independent.

- Developing countries have also joined the United Nations and actively
developed different regional and multilateral South-South institutions to defend
and promote their common interests in the various multilateral negotiating
processes.

- The establishment in 1961 of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). This was

followed by the establishment of the Group of 77 (G77) in 1964.

- The basic principles of Bandung, namely, mutual interest, solidarity and respect
for national sovereignty, continue to play important roles in shaping and guiding
the relations of developing countries with each other.