Why in the News?

The 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Mid-Term Ministerial Meeting was recently held in Kampala, Uganda.

About the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

Overview: A grouping of states not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc, established to uphold sovereignty, independence, and neutrality during the Cold War.
Formation: Founded in 1961 at Belgrade, Yugoslavia, emerging from the 1955 Bandung Conference (Indonesia) which laid down the Ten Principles of Bandung as its ideological foundation.
Founding Leaders:

1. Jawaharlal Nehru (India)
2. Gamal Abdel Nasser (Egypt)
3. Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia)
4. Ahmed Sukarno (Indonesia)
5. Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana)

Membership:
- 120 countries: 53 from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America & the Caribbean, and 2 from Europe.
- Includes Palestine as a member and 17 observer nations with 10 observer organisations.
- Represents nearly 60% of UN membership, making it the second-largest intergovernmental bloc after the UN.
Structure: NAM functions without a permanent secretariat, charter, or budget, relying on rotational leadership and consensus-driven decision-making.

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)

India advocates for reinvigorating NAM as a platform for South-South cooperation in technology, trade, and climate resilience.
It seeks to make NAM relevant in a multipolar world, focusing on digital equity, global governance reforms, and sustainable development.
India views NAM not as an anti-West bloc but as a forum of balanced autonomy, promoting strategic non-alignment and global partnership in the 21st century.