60th Anniversary Additional Commemorative Non-Aligned Meeting

60th Anniversary Additional Commemorative Non-Aligned Meeting
Додатни комеморативни сусрет Покрета несврстаних на 60. годишњицу оснивања / Dodatni komemorativni susret Pokreta nesvrstanih na 60. godišnjicu osnivanja (Serbian)
the Belgrade Fair was selected as an adequately large event venue in the Covid pandemic context
Host country Serbia
DateOctober 11, 2021 (2021-10-11) – October 12, 2021 (2021-10-12)
Venue(s)Belgrade Fair[1]
CitiesBelgrade
ChairAleksandar Vučić and Ilham Aliyev[2]
(President of Serbia and President of Azerbaijan)

60th Anniversary Additional Commemorative Non-Aligned Meeting is the 11–12 October 2021 Non-Aligned Movement commemorative meeting taking place in Belgrade, Serbia.[3] The meeting was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, and cohosted with Azerbaijan, in commemoration to the 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.[4][5][6] President Ilham Aliyev made opening speech in a video format.[7] Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selaković underlined that his county's strategic and essential goal is membership in the European Union, but that Serbia will not give up on its traditional friends which are not only Russia or China but all member states of the Non-Aligned Movement.[8] While reflecting on historical achievements Indian representative Meenakshi Lekhi invited honest introspection if movement is to keep its relevance and called unnamed member states to avoid insistence on divisive issues and bilateral score-settling which make NAM increasingly ineffective.[9] Participants vocally decried the disparity in vaccine access between developed and developing countries.[10]

Participants

The event took place at the Belgrade Fair with attendees including President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo,[11] Abd al-Hakim (son of Gamal Abdel Nasser), 40 ministers of foreign affairs (including for the first time Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov not as a guest but an observer).[1][12] Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres stressed that the event is taking place in the situation of exceptional global challenges.[13]

Delegation of Cyprus, one of the founding members and one of only a couple of former European members, was notably absent with Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus avoiding to comment the Radio Free Europe quest and with media implying it was result of country's poor relations with cohost county of Azerbaijan.[14]

Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu was invited as a special guest.[15] Turkish diplomat Volkan Bozkır was previously president of Seventy-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Nikola Selaković described the event as the largest diplomatic gathering in Europe taking place during the Covid pandemic expecting to bring together 550 attendees from 105 countries and 11 organisations.[16]

Delegates

Members

Observers

Guests

Events and initiatives

The City of Belgrade prolonged the opening hours of various services (restricted due to pandemic) to welcome numerous foreign guests.[38] President of the Seventy-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly hosted the sidelines Meeting of Women Heads of Delegations and Ministers of Foreign Affairs at the UN House in Belgrade.[25] Minister of Foreign Affairs of Indonesia Retno Marsudi highlighted the Indonesian nomination of the Archive of the First NAM Conference to the Memory of the World program of UNESCO.[26] Saint Kitts and Nevis and Burkina Faso signed a formal diplomatic relations and visa waiver agreement at the margins of the meeting.[21] During the meeting with Riyad al-Maliki President of Serbia Vučić reiterated that his country will not move its embassy to Jerusalem as it was planned in the 2020 Washington Agreement.[39]

Criticism

The event was criticized by University of Graz professor Florian Bieber as an outlived unprincipled autocrats gathering in service of Serbian president policy agenda.[40] The President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani who said that Belgrade is abusing the Non-Aligned Movement to distort the truth about Kosovo and called Serbia a colonizer country.[41] The head of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo Petar Petković answered that Osmani's criticism are motivated by her anxiety arising from the loss of international support.[41]

References

  1. ^ a b Sava Radovanović (10 October 2021). "Samit nesvrstanih - svet se ponovo okuplja u Beogradu". Radio Television of Vojvodina. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b Ry Sochan (8 October 2021). "Cambodia set to reaffirm commitment at Non-aligned Movement conference". The Phnom Penh Post. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  3. ^ Giri, Anil (2 October 2021). "As Non-Aligned Movement marks 60 years, many are questioning its relevance". The Kathmandu Post. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  4. ^ Tanja Valič (13 July 2021). "Serbian FM invites Non-Aligned countries to Belgrade for anniversary". N1. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Pokret nesvrstanih: U Beograd pristižu strani zvaničnici na samit". Dnevni Avaz. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Zvaničnici članica Pokreta nesvrstanih i posmatrača samita pristižu u Beograd". Nova.rs. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  7. ^ "President Ilham Aliyev made speech at High-Level Commemorative Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in video format". AzerTac. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  8. ^ "Selaković: Nesvrstani sledeće sedmice u Beogradu, jedan od najvećih skupova u Evropi". Danas. 6 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  9. ^ "India pitches for 'honest introspection' by NAM to stay relevant". The Economic Times. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Wealthy Nations Denounced for Hoarding COVID-19 Vaccines". Democracy Now. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  11. ^ a b Fred Dzakpata (10 October 2021). "Akufo-Addo attends 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement". Asaase Radio. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  12. ^ "Lavrov to attend jubilee Nonaligned Movement forum in Belgrade". TASS. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  13. ^ "U Beogradu počeo samit Pokreta nesvrstanih povodom 60 godina od osnivanja". Voice of America. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  14. ^ Dušan Komarčević (8 October 2021). "Pet stvari koje bi trebalo znati o Pokretu nesvrstanih". Radio Slobodna Evropa. Radio Free Europe. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  15. ^ a b "No: 336, 10 October 2021, Press Release Regarding the Participation of H.E Minister Çavuşoğlu in the High-Level Commemorative Meeting on the Occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey). 10 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  16. ^ Rade Prelić (10 October 2021). "FM Selakovic: Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Belgrade proves Serbia's reputation". N1 (TV channel). Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d "NESVRSTANI U BEOGRADU: Brnabić na svečanoj večeri za predsednika Gane i premijera Alžira". Večernje novosti. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  18. ^ "Prvi gost skupa Nesvrstanih ministar Antigve i Barbuda". Tanjug. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  19. ^ "U Beogradu počelo obilježavanja 60. godišnjice Pokreta nesvrstanih". Al Jazeera Balkans. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  20. ^ "FM leaves Dhaka to join meetings in Romania, Serbia". Dhaka Tribune. 7 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  21. ^ a b c "St Kitts and Nevis and Burkina Faso signs visa waiver agreement". Wic News. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  22. ^ "Remarks by H.E. Osman Saleh Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Eritrea At the Sixtieth Commemoration of the Non-Aligned Movement Belgrade11-12 October 2021". Ministry of Information (Eritrea). 11 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  23. ^ "More vaccines, climate help needed for poorer nations, say UN, Non-Aligned Movement". Reuters. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  24. ^ "Statement delivered by the Honourable Joseph Hamilton, MP at the Meeting to Commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement Belgrade, Serbia, October 11 – 12, 2021". Government of Guyana. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  25. ^ a b "MoS Lekhi to visit Serbia to attend 60th anniversary of Non-Aligned Movement". Asian News International. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  26. ^ a b "Press Statement Minister for Foreign Affairs of Indonesia, Belgrade, 10 October 2021". Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Indonesia). 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Non-Aligned Movement Summit kicks off in Belgrade". Islamic Republic News Agency. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  28. ^ a b "Saudi foreign minister holds bilateral talks on sidelines of Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Serbia". Arab News. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  29. ^ "MINISTAR INOSTRANIH POSLOVA KUVAJTA: Skup u Beogradu ponovno oživljava Pokret nesvrstanih". Espreso. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  30. ^ "High-Level Meeting to Mark 60th Anniversary of Non-Aligned Movement Opens in Belgrade with Morocco's Participation". Maghreb Arabe Press. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  31. ^ "Foreign Minister Dr. Khadka leaves for Belgrade to attend NAM anniversary". Khabarhub. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  32. ^ "Nigeria participates in 60th anniversary of First Conference of Non-Aligned Countries". The Sun (Nigeria). 11 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  33. ^ a b "NESVRSTANI STIGLI U BEOGRAD Među njima je i sin jednog od osnivača pokreta Gamala Nasera". Pink.rs. 10 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  34. ^ "Turkey's Cavusoglu says he met Syrian foreign minister in October".
  35. ^ a b "Dodik na Samitu nesvrstanih: BiH 'zapadni protektorat'". Radio Free Europe. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  36. ^ "Hrvatska ipak ima svog predstavnika na golemom samitu Pokreta nesvrstanih u Beogradu, evo tko je delegiran". Tportal. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 12 October 2021.
  37. ^ "Državni sekretar dr. Raščan na 60. obletnici Gibanja neuvrščenih". Government of Slovenia. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  38. ^ "Produženo radno vrijeme u Beogradu do 13.oktobra". buka. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  39. ^ "Serbian President Says His Country Will Not Move Embassy to Jerusalem". The Palestine Chronicle. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  40. ^ "Biber o samitu nesvrstanih: Autokrate u službi Vučićeve agende". Danas. 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  41. ^ a b "Kosovo President says Belgrade abusing Non-Aligned conference". N1 (television). 11 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.

See also