NAM summit opens in Kampala as Uganda calls for multilateralism
The 19th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has opened in Kampala with the host nation calling for multilateralism and solidarity to tackle several challenges the world is facing.
“Today, we are facing several challenges around the world including conflicts in different parts of the world, food insecurity, migration, unemployment, health pandemics, climate change, and terrorism,” Foreign Affairs Minister Gen (rtd) Jeje Odongo said while opening the five-day summit at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort Hotel on Monday, January 15, 2024.
Odongo noted that NAM, which was founded in 1961 in the middle of a world split by antagonism between the USA and the former Soviet Union and the alliances they led, remains an important organization in the increasingly complex international situation.
NAM now comprises 120 states, 18 observer countries, and 10 observer organizations.
“Today, we are facing several challenges around the world including conflicts in different parts of the world, food insecurity, migration, unemployment, health pandemics, climate change, and terrorism,” he said.
He also said they recognize challenges in financing for development and the very serious issue of the debt burden.
“It is, therefore, crucial for us to address existing, new, and emerging issues collectively for the good of mankind. Uganda believes that multilateralism and solidarity are required much more than ever so that we individually prepare and collectively respond to further challenges,” he stated.
The minister thanked the leadership of Azerbaijan for steering the work of the movement since it assumed the chairmanship for 2019 to 2022, which he said was the height of COVID-19.
