(VOVworld) – The 2015 Asia-Africa Conference opened in Jakarta, Indonesia on Wednesday with leaders from 105 countries, 15 observer countries, and 17 international organizations attending.

The Vietnamese delegation is led by President Truong Tan Sang. The Vietnamese president delivered a keynote speech during the conference’s first plenary session in which he said the 1955 Bandung Conference inspired people in Asian and African countries to stand up for national independence and development. He said that as one of the 29 countries attending that conference Vietnam strongly supports the theme of this year’s event “Strengthening South-South Cooperation to Promote World Peace and Prosperity”. Vietnam called on Asia and Africa to increase cooperation to ensure an environment of peace and security, a precondition for sustainable growth. President Sang said countries should respect the 10 Bandung principles, particularly those on sovereignty and territorial integrity, with no intervention or threats of invasion or to use force, and resolve disputes through peaceful means in line with the UN Charter.

President Sang said the Bandung principles have been integrated in Vietnam’s foreign policy for peace, cooperation, and development, which prioritizes friendship, solidarity, and cooperation with other Asian and African nations. He said that Vietnam and other ASEAN countries are building an ASEAN Community on the 3 pillars of politics-security, economics, and culture-society: “We are striving to maintain peace, stability, security, and safety and freedom of navigation in the East Sea, which connects ASEAN with other regions including Africa. We insist on handling disputes in line with international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) towards adopting a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC). Vietnam is increasing its participation in global policy-making mechanisms, helping to raise the voice of developing nations.”

President Sang also received the Vice President of Venezuela Jorge Arreaza, the Vice President of Angola Manuel Domingos Vicente, and the Foreign Minister of Tunisia Taieb Baccouche. He said Vietnam would cooperate with Venezuela and other countries to ensure the success of the Summit of the Non-aligned Movement in Venezuela this September. He said that Vietnam treasures its traditional friendship with Angola and the two countries have consolidated their political relations through the exchange of high-level visits. He said that Vietnam and Tunisia need to further their political relations and cooperation at multilateral forums and organizations.