New Delhi, Oct 23 :
Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu will lead the Indian delegation at the XVIII Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to be held at Baku, Azerbaijan on 25-26 October. The Summit will be preceded by Senior Officials Meeting and Ministerial Meeting. The theme for the XVIII NAM Summit is “Upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted and adequate response to the challenges of contemporary world”. The Ten Principles of Bandung, a political statement encapsulating the need to promote world peace and cooperation were formulated at the Asian-African Conference in 1955. The theme is significant as it relates to the forthcoming 65th anniversary of Bandung Principles in 2020 and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Movement in 2021. India is one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which was established in 1961 with 29 members. It has since grown to 120 members to become one of the largest groupings of nation-states The Summit will focus on a whole gamut of contemporary issues such as Terrorism, threats to peace and security, UN reform, climate change, sustainable development, economic governance and south-south cooperation. The participation of the Vice President would further strengthen India’s engagement with NAM and its member countries. The Vice President will deliver the national statement at the NAM Summit and hold bilateral meetings with other Heads of States and Governments including the President of the host country, on the sidelines. In his interventions, the Vice President is expected to highlight the need for world community to come together to combat the threat of terrorism and the imminent need to democratize and reform multilateral bodies like the United Nations Security Council to make them stronger and more representative.
He will also address the members of the Indian community at a reception organized by the Embassy of India in Baku. The Vice President will lead the delegation comprising the External Affairs Minister, Shri S. Jaishankar, India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Shri Syed Akbaruddin and the Secretary to the Vice President, Shri I.V Subba Rao.
