UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is delivering the openning speech at the openning ceremony of the Asian-African summit. (Xinhua)

JAKARTA, April 22 (Xinhuanet) -- Leaders and representatives from more than 100 countries and regions started to discuss the establishment of Asian-African strategic partnership here on Friday at a historic summit between the two continents.

    The two-day Asian-African summit, the second of the type in 50 years, has drawn heads of state or governments from about 50 countries, as well as chiefs of about two dozens of international organizations including UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

    Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in his opening speech that peoples of the two continents must cooperate closely to meet the challenges in today's world, particularly by economic globalization.

    He and summit co-chairman Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa, shared the view in their speeches that the Bandung Spirit,which encourages cooperation between Asian and African peoples, isstill relevant and very important in today's world.

    The Bandung Spirit means the same in 2005 as in 1955, Mbeki said.

    The conference, with the theme "Reinvigorating the Bandung Spirit: Working Toward a New Asian-African Strategic Partnership,"will witness the signing the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP) and issue a joint statement on tsunamis, earthquakes and other national disasters.

    The summit observed one minute of silence for hundreds of thousands of those killed in the tsunami disaster that struck southern Asia at the end of last year. Enditem