M’sia to reaffirm commitment to strengthen Non-Aligned Movement

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will state its commitment and initiatives to strengthen the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), at the two-day NAM Summit in Margarita Island, Venezuela.

According to a statement from Wisma Putra, this would be conveyed by Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican in his speech at the summit which began on Saturday.

It said Malaysia’s participation in the summit portrayed and confirmed the country’s continued commitment to the princples and struggles of NAM, which comprised 120 member states.

The 17th NAM Summit themed “United on the Path for Peace”, also celebrates the movement’s 55th anniversary.

It is hosted by Venezuela as the NAM chair for 2016-2019, taking over from Iran (2012-2016).

The 17th NAM Summit is a forum for representatives of the member countries to discuss and evaluate the implementation of the decisions made at the 16th Summit in Tehran in August, 2012.

The summit is held every three years to also, among others, come up with responses to current regional and international issues, especially involving politics, security and development.

Malaysia has been a member of NAM since 1970 and chaired the movement from 2003 until 2006 and has been a member of its Committee on Palestine since 2002.

When chairing NAM, Malaysia hosted the movement’s 13th Summmit in Kuala Lumpur in 2003, the first NAM Ministerial Meeting on Women’s Development in Putrajaya (2005), 6th NAM Ministers of Information Conference in Kuala Lumpur (2005) and Ministerial Meeting of the NAM Coordinating Bureau in Putrajaya (2006).

Malaysia had also established the NAM News Network (NNN) under the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) and NAM Institute for the Advancement of Women (NIEW) under the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry, and had been funding the full operational costs of these two institutions, the statement said. - Bernama