Afro-Asia

For other uses, see Afro-Asiatic (disambiguation).

A map depicting the countries that participated in the 2003 Afro-Asian Games.

Afro-Asia is a term describing the combination of Africa and Asia. The term is often used to describe the solidarity between African and Asian nations when they were acting against European colonialism and later also remaining nonaligned during the Cold War.

Together with Europe, Africa and Asia form the landmass of Afro-Eurasia.

History

Ancient era

See also: Maritime Silk Road, Indian Ocean trade, and Ming treasure voyages

Africa and Asia had trade links in pre-colonial times, particularly through East Africa trading with Asian regions as far east as China.

Post-war era

The major impetus for Afro-Asian solidarity was the 1955 Bandung Conference. This solidarity was sometimes frustrating for the West when votes were taken at the United Nations. However, the solidarity declined due to the 1962 Sino-Indian War, weakening the relationship between the two Asian giants; the division of the African nations into groups such as the Monrovia Group and Casablanca Group, as well as the Sino-Soviet split were other major issues that further split Afro-Asia into competing blocs in the 1960s.

See also

• Afro-Asians
• Indian Ocean world
• Africa–India relations
• Sino-African relations
• Black orientalism

Further reading

• Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting: Afro-Asian Connections and the Myth of Cultural Purity
• Israel and "Afro-Asia"