World leaders vowed to carry on the Bandung Spirit in today's world for the benefit of developing countries at an Asian-African summit opened in Jakarta on Friday.

The Bandung Spirit, which was formed at the first Asian-African summit in 1955 and advocates solidarity, equality and cooperation, was a "major turning point in world history," UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said.

He told the opening ceremony of the 2005 Asian-African summit that Bandung gave the peoples of the developing world a voice on the international stage.

The Bandung Spirit "completed transformed the United Nations" and "is as powerful, as important, and as correct today as it was 50 years ago," he said.

Leaders and representatives from more than 100 countries and regions started to discuss the establishment of Asian-African strategic partnership at the two-day summit under the banner of Bandung.

The Asian-African summit is being attended by 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 various challenges in today's world.

"I would say that the case for Asia-Africa solidarity today is, even more compelling than it was 50 years ago," he said, adding the real challenge of Asia-Africa is "not about developing the power to confront, but the power to connect."

He and another summit co-chairman Thabo Mbeki, president of South Africa, shared the view in their speeches that the Bandung Spirit is still 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 such a partnership and issue a joint statement on tsunamis, earthquakes and other national disasters.

Annan: 1955 Bandung Conference a turning point in world history

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan Friday spoke highly of the 1955 Bandung Conference, calling it "a major turning point in world history."

Fifty years ago twenty-nine Asian and African countries met in Bandung, Indonesia, to join hands in the fight against colonialism.

The conference resulted in the Ten Principles of Bandung which called for solidarity, friendship and cooperation among developing countries.

"Bandung set forth a vision to overcome the divisions of the Cold War, based on peaceful co-existence and the principles of the United Nations Charter. It gave the peoples of the developing world a voice on the international stage," Annan said at the second Asian-African Summit which opened here Friday.

"I am filled with pride, and even a little nostalgia, on this special occasion. I was a teenager when the leaders of my own continent, some of them defying their colonial rulers, came here to Indonesia, and joined hands with fellow leaders in Asia to adopt the Bandung declaration.

"At the time, it seemed an audacious and creative thing to do.

Looking back, it was a major turning point in the world history," he said.

During the Bandung Conference, the leaders underlined the fundamental right of all peoples to self-determination and pledged their solidarity with each other in the fight against colonialism, and in the struggle for economic and social development.

"Their vision eventually led to the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement and the G-77. As each new nation found its freedom, and took its seat in the General Assembly hall, the 'Spirit of Bandung' completely transformed the United Nations," Annan said.

Annan is here to attend the two-day Asian-African Summit and the commemoration of the golden jubilee of the Bandung Conference, which has attracted more than 100 countries and international organizations, including over 50 heads of state and government.