15th Non-aligned summit

The 15th Non-aligned Movement summit was held at Sharm-el-shiekh in Egypt on July 15-16, 2009. Representatives of 118 member countries and 16 observers participated in summit. The new Chairman, the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak
pledged in his closing note to the session that Egypt would do its best to serve the NAM and its principles.

Call for Security Council reform

Though there is no unanimity on the issue of security council reform among the countries of NAM, the declaration emphasised
the need to restore the balance between the principal organs of the United Nations and affirm the role and authority of the General Assembly.

Other issues

The NAM declaration called for the early finalisation of the draft Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. This clause was inserted because of the pressure from India. India was also happy with the formulation on climate change because it calls for strengthening the political momentum in the run-up to the Copenhagen Conference in a manner that duly reflects the views of the NAM countries with regard to mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer, capacity building and shared vision in accordance with the principles of common but Differentiated Responsibilities.

Indian stand at the NAM

While addressing the opening session of the NAM summit Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh described the Non-Aligned Movement as a moral force for the equitable transformation of a world. He also said that the 118-nations grouping must ensure that the steps planned to revive the global economy take into account the third world’s concerns. He also touched other issues like climate change, the United Nations, Palestine and terrorism.