Soon after the end of the Second World War numerous states of Asia and Africa were able to free themselves from the clutches of the colonial rule. However continuous tension and strife between the two super powers that had emerged after the Second World War created great problems for those countries which were not only small in size but were under developed as well.
They soon found themselves posed with serious difficulties in respect to the formulation of their foreign policies as none of them could afford to invite the annoyance of any of the super powers which usually came in the shape of economic blockade or military intervention.
They eagerly wanted to preserve their independence and theory become economically self-sufficient. It was the first large scale gathering of the Afro-Asian countries.