Summary:
- India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar, will represent the country at the 19th Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Uganda, highlighting the evolving focus of NAM towards South-South cooperation amidst Uganda’s role as the chair of the grouping from 2024-2027.
India’s Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S Jaishankar, is slated to represent the country at the forthcoming Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, scheduled for January 17th to 20th, 2024. Preceding the summit, a pivotal foreign ministerial meeting is set to take place on January 15th. Furthermore, Uganda will host the Third South Summits and G77 meeting from January 21st to 23rd.
In a departure from India’s representation at the Vice President level during the 2019 NAM summit in Azerbaijan and the 2016 NAM Venezuela summit, this marks the External Affairs Minister’s second visit to Uganda within a year. His previous visit in April 2023 saw the inauguration of the first foreign campus of India’s National Forensic Science University (NFSU) in Jinja, underscoring India’s commitment to enhancing capacity in Africa. Notably, this year also saw the opening of the IIT Madras campus in Zanzibar, Tanzania.
The 19th edition of the NAM summit holds significance as Uganda assumes the chair of the NAM grouping from 2024 to 2027. President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni expressed the country’s readiness to showcase hospitality and contribute to a successful summit, emphasizing its role as host during the announcement in Baku, Azerbaijan, on October 19, 2019.
A distinctive aspect of Uganda’s approach to the summit is President Museveni’s declaration that no Covid tests will be conducted during the event. He cited the preferences of certain NAM stakeholders who expressed reluctance to have their DNA exposed.
Originally established during the Cold War to advocate for the interests of developing nations avoiding alignment with Western or Soviet blocs, NAM has evolved its mission post-1991. Amidst a shifting geopolitical landscape, the movement now emphasizes fostering South-South cooperation, offering a platform for nations to collaborate independently of traditional alliances. India, a founding member, hosted the 7th NAM Summit in New Delhi in 1983.
As of now, NAM boasts a membership comprising 53 countries from Africa, 40 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean, and one from Europe (Belarus). Additionally, there are 18 countries and 10 international organizations serving as Observers at NAM, making it the second-largest grouping globally in terms of membership, trailing only the UN.
