African Summit, which will start on Friday, leaders are expected to sign a New Asian-African Strategic Partnership (NAASP), which aims to boost political solidarity, economic cooperation and socio-cultural ties between the two continents. The partnership aims to expand on the so-called Ten Principles of the Bandung Conference to also address issues from human rights, democratic governance and trade to environmental protection, weapons of mass destruction and terrorism in greater detail. During the summit, the nations' leaders also plan to reaffirm their commitment to their support for the creation of an independent Palestinian state, and issue a statement on a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean. Yudhoyono was scheduled to hold a state dinner on Thursday night before the start of the summit, which begins Friday morning with opening remarks by the two hosts and U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.
