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Non-Aligned Movement gives voice to more than half of globe, says host Venezuela

Xinhua, September 16, 2016 Adjust font size:

The 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) kicked into high gear on Thursday, with high-level representatives from 120 countries gathering in Venezuela's Caribbean island resort of Margarita.

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Delcy Rodriguez addressed the summit, underscoring the group's reach.

"When we see that 55 percent of the world's population is gathered in Margarita, represented by each (member) country and delegation, we know that we can without a doubt be a major force in the face of the great challenges humankind faces today," said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez greeted Iran's Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, whose country is handing over the three-year rotating presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement to Venezuela.

"Our movement has a goal, which is the equality of countries," said Rodriguez, adding the organization "takes up the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter."

Strengthening South-South cooperation and working to create a more multilateral world are both vital to reaching those goals, she said.

To that end, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has served to counter unilateralism and domination by a single state or group of states, she highlighted.

"Our movement ... can bring balance to the world," said Rodriguez.

Rejecting the U.S.-led trade embargo against Cuba and supporting Palestinian self-determination were two of the items of the summit agenda, she added.

Also present at the summit were Nicaraguan Vice President Moises Omar Halleslevens and the deputy prime ministers of Serbia and Qatar, as well as the foreign affairs ministers of India, Indonesia, Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, Syria, Algeria, Palestine, Azerbaijan and six other countries.

Heads of state and top government officials will meet on Saturday and Sunday.

The movement was founded in Belgrade in 1961,with a shared aim to fight imperialism, colonialism and oppression. Enditem