Summits are necessary in the future

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