Non-Aligned Movement States Push for Multilateralism as Summit Opens in Uganda

KAMPALA, (Xinhua): The 19th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) opened in Kampala Friday with a call by leaders to member states to focus on unity as the world grapples with the continued push for unilateralism.

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Jeyhun Bayramov, who opened the summit on behalf of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the outgoing chair of NAM, said the meeting takes place at a time when the international system is facing many challenges.

He called for continued unity among the member countries to address these challenges. Azerbaijan assumed the chairmanship of NAM in 2019 and is set to hand it over to Uganda later this week.

Yoweri Museveni, Ugandan president and incoming chair of NAM, said the NAM will not accept the continued push for unilateralism and dictating by the developed North on what independent states must do. He said nations should not be manipulated, lectured, or threatened.

“Our stand is that the world should concentrate on the common human problems — prosperity through trade, the advance of science and technology to deal with human problems, the environment, crime, and terrorism. The future is bright if we act right,” he said.

Museveni said the strength of NAM should be used to exercise considerable influence, particularly at the UN for the effective transformative process for a better common future.

“In the negotiations for the Pact of the Future, the outcome document of the upcoming United Nations Summit of the Future to be held in New York in September 2024, we should clearly define priorities that favor developing countries by maintaining unity, solidarity and collective coordination among our member states,” he said.

Close to 30 heads of state and government are attending the two-day summit, according to Uganda’s foreign affairs ministry. The summit, held under the theme “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence,” was preceded by the ministerial meeting and the senior officials’ meeting.

Since its establishment in 1961, the NAM has been guided by the Bandung Principles, which include respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations, recognition of the equality of all races and nations, large and small, and abstention from intervention or interference in the internal affairs of other countries.