Non-Aligned Movement Summit underway in Venezuela

World Today

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It’s one of Venezuela’s biggest diplomatic events in history. Over 160 international delegations are meeting on Margarita Island for a summit.

Non-Aligned Movement has a great range of members. Representatives from small Caribbean islands, dozens of African nations, and the DPRK are all at the summit. They said its 120 members represent more than half the world’s population.

CCTV America’s Stephen Gibbs reports.

Whenever the the Non-Aligned Movement meets, there is controversy about its purpose. The movement was set up in the midst of the Cold War.

A group of five leaders, including India’s Prime Minister Nehru, and Yugoslavia’s President Tito, felt the grouping would help them resist pressure to ally themselves with either the Soviet Union or the United States.

Now, 55 years later, the Soviet Union is gone and the Cold War is over. The Non-Aligned Movement has evolved into more of a forum for the developing world and an opportunity nations to express their opinions on diverse issues such as poverty reduction and world peace.

Venezuela, which is the midst of its own economic and political crisis said the fact that so many countries are represented at this summit counters suggestions that it is becoming diplomatically isolated.

But a closer look at who is at the summit and who isn’t indicates some governments are staying away, or downgrading the importance of the movement.

One notable no-show is India’s Prime Minister Modi-the first time an Indian Prime minister hasn’t attended since 1979.


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