On April 18, 2025, the Valdai Club hosted an expert discussion titled "70 Years On: The Legacy of Bandung", during which a report, "The Bandung Conference: Historical Memory and Vision for the Future", was presented. The moderator of the discussion, Oleg Barabanov, called the original conference, held in 1955 in Bandung, a major event in history and world politics, which marked the beginning of what eventually became the Non-Aligned Movement, and in a sense, gave rise to the phenomenon of the Global South as such. “The anniversary of Bandung is important both as a historical memory and from the point of view of moving forward,” he noted.
Sergey Tolchenov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to the Republic of Indonesia, emphasized that during the Bandung Conference, the leaders of 29 countries in Asia and Africa gathered to discuss the struggle for independence and a better future. In Indonesia it is well remembered, the "Spirit of Bandung" is constantly mentioned and attempts are made to apply it to current realities. However, according to the diplomat, a new paradigm of the "Spirit of Bandung" is now needed so that it does not turn into some kind of mantra, but as a political resource for the states of the Global South and the world majority, which continue to fight neocolonial practices and for a more democratic world order. It is necessary to understand how to use the legacy of Bandung in modern conditions, he believes.
Connie Rahakundini Bakri, Professor at the Faculty of International Relations at St. Petersburg State University, pointed out the importance of economic issues and counteracting economic and political pressure for the countries of the world majority. Against this background, the issue of not only political synchronisation, but also economic instruments (particularly via BRICS+) is on the agenda. Topics such as financial independence, freedom of economic activity and global communications come to the fore. In addition, the problem of access to resources remains important. It is necessary to provide developing countries with access to natural resources, particularly rare earth metals, as well as to infrastructure corridors that would allow for unimpeded communication. This is the task facing the new Non-Aligned Movement, and the further development of the ideas of the Bandung Conference can help to achieve it.
Ekaterina Koldunova, Director of the ASEAN Centre, Associate Professor of the Department of Oriental Studies at MGIMO University, listed some factors that allow the Bandung Conference to retain its significance despite the radically changed world. It is important that this was the first experience of organizing the world majority at the global level - it is not for nothing, as shown in the report, that the conference represented more than half of humanity. At the same time, the participants not only formulated common positions on the issues of historical memory and neocolonialism, but also proposed to the world community a number of principles for the desired world order. “This was done not by superpowers, but by countries and peoples whose voices were not heard on the world stage until recently,” Koldunova emphasised. The Bandung experience also, in her opinion, helps answer the key question at the present stage: how must we ensure that the global majority is capable of collective action. This requires peaceful coexistence between India and China, and that attention be paid to the voices of small and medium-sized countries while taking into account the interests of major players, and the creation of a structure that will allow for gradual movement toward the institutionalisation of interaction without calling into question the internal diversity of the global majority. “So far, only the BRICS+ format meets these criteria in the modern world,” Koldunova summed up.
Hendra Manurung, Lecturer at the Department of Military History, Faculty of Defence Strategy, Republic of Indonesia Defence University (RIDU), is convinced that the Bandung principles are still relevant as a symbol of independence for medium and small countries. The world is changing, moving from the so-called rules-based order to a more democratic order. It can no longer rely solely on large powers to maintain global stability. Therefore, medium and small states are playing an increasingly important role in shaping a more just and inclusive world order. In this regard, it is necessary to reform global institutions and increase the effectiveness of international organisations by increasing the influence of middle powers, which often have significant regional and global influence, they are characterised by economic growth and political dynamism, advocate multilateralism and promote international dialogue, especially in the Global South. 70 years after the Bandung Conference, the spirit of non-alignment and the movement towards justice, reform, cooperation and strategic autonomy are still very important, the Indonesian researcher said.
Nikita Kuklin, an expert at the ASEAN Centre at MGIMO University, focused on the role of Indonesia and Russian-Indonesian relations, noting the need for Russia to form its own narrative about the Bandung Conference, as well as its interaction with the countries of the Global South. He believes that Indonesia is very important for Russia as a partner. The experience of Bandung shows how special this country is. The Bandung Conference was a kind of foreign policy projection of the internal ideological and philosophical framework that the first president of Indonesia, Sukarno, and was built on the basis of the Pancasila (Five Principles) doctrine. The external framework of Indonesian policy, the doctrine of active independence, was formed at the conference. In Indonesia, the opinion has developed that it has so-called normative power, influencing the norms, principles and values of its allies. This is evident in the example of ASEAN, many of whose principles are based on Indonesian ideas. Now Indonesia is again on the verge of forming a new world order. It has enormous potential as a member of BRICS, ASEAN and other multilateral formats, relying on its normative power to set a value framework for other participants in international relations. This is especially relevant because Indonesian foreign policy principles have always been aimed not at confrontation, but at coordinating positions, Kuklin said.
Marco Fernandes, Editor at Wenhua Zongheng International, Geopolitical Analyst at Brasil de Fato, analysed China's role in the Bandung Conference and the impact of the conference's results on Chinese diplomacy. India and China agreed on five principles of peaceful coexistence, which became the basis of the Ten Principles of Bandung. China came to Bandung to seek unity with the countries of Asia and to oppose colonialism. During the conference, it actively acted as a moderator. The Bandung Conference provided China, which found itself in relative isolation after the revolution, with the opportunity to establish diplomatic relations with many Asian countries. "It is sad to realise that most of the issues discussed at the Bandung Conference are still problems," Fernandez admitted. These include economic backwardness caused by colonialism and neocolonialism, inequality, and nuclear threats. However, some of the goals that were not achieved as a result of the Bandung Conference have now been achieved. In particular, BRICS was created, uniting five of the eight largest economies in the world, including Russia, India, and China. This allows for the development of economic cooperation among the countries of the world majority on a scale that was unthinkable at the time of the Bandung Conference.
Sellita, Lecturer at the International Relations Department, Bakrie University, noted that the Bandung Conference reminds us of the special spirit of diplomacy of its participating countries, which fought together against colonialism. She pointed out the importance of this spirit for today's youth. At the same time, the conference became a milestone in diplomatic history, allowing Indonesia to actively participate in the international arena, including as a mediator, and pointing out the importance of the principles of mutual respect and non-interference, especially amid the current turbulent era of transition from unipolarity to multipolarity. "The "Spirit of Bandung" gave impetus to the participating countries to form a new, multipolar world, and young people should remember this," Sellita concluded.
