By Frank Kamuntu
The 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit kicked off on Monday in Kampala, Uganda amid tight security.
The summit comes at a time when the world is facing key challenges like terrorism and climate change.
The five-day-long summit is the largest grouping of states worldwide after the UN, with 120 member states, 18 observer nations, and 10 organizations.
Uganda’s Foreign Minister Gen. Abubakar Jeje Odongo opened the summit in accordance with the norm and practice of NAM.
“On behalf of the government and people of Uganda, it is a pleasure to welcome you all to Kampala for this senior officials segment of the 19th summit of heads of state and government of the Non-Aligned Movement.
Today, we are faced with many challenges globally, including terrorism, climate change, debt burden, and famine, among others, and it is therefore befitting that this year’s summit will be held under the theme, Deepening Cooperation For Shared Global Affluence,” he said.
“NAM continues to hold significance as an organization, and in light of the intricate global landscape, the continued relevance of the 10-point Badung Principles remains evident in the present era,” he added.
In April, 1955, representatives from 29 governments of Asian and African nations gathered in Bandung, Indonesia to discuss peace and the role of the Third World in the Cold War, economic development, and decolonization.
The Bandung principles include respect for the sovereignty, equality and territorial integrity of all states, rejection of the possibility of an unconstitutional change of government, the preservation of the inalienable right for each state is free, without interference from outside, to determine its political, social, economic and cultural system, and refusal from aggression and direct or indirect use of force.
The NAM summit is held every three years, usually in a different continent. The last meeting was held in Baku, Azerbaijan in 2019, with the theme, Upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted and adequate response to the challenges of the contemporary world.
The summit will be addressed by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, and more than 50 heads of state and government, among others. Overall, between 1,000 and 1,500 delegates are expected to attend the event.
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