The summit was officially opened by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Azerbaijan who represented the out going Chairman, President Ilham Heydar oghlu Aliyev of Azerbaijan. He thanked the Government and people of Uganda for the hospitality extended to them. He encouraged the NAM member states to stay united in the face of existing and growing challenges, which will help the NAM movement to solve the existing challenges. He also shared a report of NAM Chairmanship on behalf of the chair of the movement, which also highlighted the increasing membership of the movement and South Sudan was to grow the number to 121 states.
The President of Uganda who was accompanied by his First Lady, Janet Kataha Museveni, in his speech, he gave a background of how man has been evolving and transforming amidst the evil schemes of some selfish actors. He also asked all actors to respect the freedom of every body and influence people with their good example, not by manipulations and threats.
The president also said that as resistance fighters, they fight just wars because those who fight unjust wars usually lose. He said ” Our stand, is that the world should concentrate on the common human problems, prosperity through trade, the advance of science and technology to deal with human problems, the environment, crime and terrorism.”
This summit was attended by 16 Presidents from New Caledonia, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, United Nations Assembly, Botswana, China, Libya, Burundi, South Sudan, Somalia and central African. Other countries were represented by their Vice Presidents, Prime Minsters, Speakers, Ministers and other delegates.
The theme of this 19th Non – Aligned Movement (NAM) is ; “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence”.
