DHAKA: Indonesian president Joko Widodo called on Wednesday for a new global financial order that is open to emerging economic powers and leaves the ‘obsolete ideas’ of Bretton Woods institutions in the past.

Widodo’s speech in Jakarta opened a meeting of Asian and African nations to mark the 60th anniversary of a conference that was seen as a united stand by the developing world against colonialism and led to the Cold War era’s non-aligned movement.

Among the leaders listening were Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese president Xi Jinping, who were expected to meet on the sidelines of the conference, the latest sign of a thaw in relations between the Asian rivals.

Sino-Japanese ties have chilled in recent years due to feuds over the two neighbors’ wartime past as well as territorial rows and regional rivalry.

Bilateral talks in Jakarta on Wednesday could promote a cautious rapprochement that began when Abe and Xi met at a summit in Beijing late last year, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1152 HRS, APR 22, 2015
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