MINISTER of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Karen Cummings, is set to represent Guyana at the 18th Summit of Heads of States and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Azerbaijan, Baku from October 25 to 26, 2019.

NAM is the considered the largest political forum – after the United Nations – with a membership of 120 States and an additional 17 observing countries and 10 observing intentional organisations.

A release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Wednesday, informed that the Government of Guyana is fully committed in its participation to continue to work to maintain peace and security, and global disarmament as a member of NAM.

NAM was officially established in 1961 in Belgrade by President Nkrumah, and the presidents of Yugoslavia, India, Indonesia, Ghana and Egypt to govern relations between developing and developed nations. In 1970, Guyana joined Ghana and several other developing nations as a Member State of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

The Summit’s theme for its general debate has been selected as, “Upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted and adequate response to the challenges of the contemporary world”.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs Ministry stated, “At the NAM Ministerial Meeting held at the recent 74th United Nations General Assembly, Dr. Cummings reiterated Guyana’s commitment to the core principles of the entity, such as the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for the territorial integrity of States and non-interference in the internal affairs of States.”

During the upcoming Summit, the Republic of Azerbaijan will officially assume the
Chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement succeeding the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela. Upon the opening of the 1972 NAM conference, which was held in Guyana for the first time, the late President Arthur Chung, unveiled the Non-Aligned Monument to honour the founding fathers of NAM. The monument, located on the Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown features a bust of each founding father of NAM, each of which were sculpted in the home-country of each of the founding fathers.