Ministers of Asian and African nations are assembling in Indonesia's capital city of Jakarta in preparation for the 2015 Asian-African Summit, which begins Wednesday.
The summit, which aims to strengthen dialogue between Asian and African countries, runs from Wednesday to Thursday.
At a pre-summit meeting of ministers, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the summit is a good example of the type of cooperation the world needs.
She added that she hopes that the upcoming gathering will "herald a new chapter" for Asian-African ties.
She said, "we want to see a stable, democratic and prosperous Asia-Africa. We want to see an Asia-Africa that respects human rights. And we want to see equality in Asia-Africa and throughout the world. Growing together is a must, let us cooperate and develop together."