State leaders arrived in the Indonesian capital Thursday for the April 22-24 Asian-African Summit and 50th commemoration of the 1955 Bandung Conference. Representatives of over 100 countries, including nearly 45 heads of state and government, and almost 20 organizations were scheduled to attend the two-day summit followed by a ceremonial visit to the site of the original conference in Bandung, West Java. The conference is credited with inspiring countries still under colonial dominance to strive for independence and gave rise to the Non-Aligned Movement during the Cold War. Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held a series of bilateral meetings with state leaders on Thursday afternoon after opening a simultaneous two-day business summit. Among those who the president was scheduled to meet at the state palace were Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the North Korean Supreme People's Assembly, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Sudanese President Omer Hasan Ahmed Al Bashir, Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Malaysian Defense Forces Commander General Tan Sri Datok Seri Mohd Zahidi bin Hj Zainuddin. Some state leaders arrived Thursday to take part in the start of the business summit, which was kicked off in the afternoon by Yudhoyono, who is co-hosting the Asian-African Summit with his counterpart from South Africa, President Thabo Mbeki. During the two-day business summit, state leaders from Nigeria, Uganda, China, Singapore, the Philippines, Mozambique, Pakistan, Japan and South Africa will address delegates and members of the business community and financial institutions, and will hold dialogues on economic issues. --more 1412 Local Time 1112 GMT
