Summits are necessary in the future

The Asian-African Summit 2005 ended on Sunday with commitments to further improve relations among developing nations in the two regions. The Jakarta Post asked some residents their thoughts on the issue.

Rahmat, 30, works as a reporter with a private radio station in Harmoni, Central Jakarta. He resides with his family in Tugu Utara, North Jakarta.

I think most developing countries in Asia and Africa still need similar meetings in the future to exchange experiences on how to settle their problems, which are mostly quite similar. In matters of development, less developed countries could learn from countries like Japan and South Korea on how to speed up development. African countries could also follow the success of their brothers in Asia.

The summit also shares the spirit of independence that inflamed the hearts of Asian and African leaders at the 1955 conference. Such a spirit is still relevant today, when we are still under the domination of the United States of America.

Setyawan, 25, is an computer programmer with a finance company on Jl. Jend. Sudirman. He lives in Menteng Pulo, South Jakarta.

Frankly, I did not pay much attention to the summit. However, I think the issues being addressed during the conference are still relevant with the abundance of problems we face today. I don't think the summit was a waste of time.

The summit is indeed an important forum for developing countries to discuss together problems, like poverty, child trafficking and other issues, and to take necessary measures to solve those problems.

Third world countries are now developing rapidly, while some developed countries are stagnant. This summit is a forum for Asian-African countries to join hands to stop the domination of a few developed countries in the international community. --The Jakarta Post