From 25-27 May 2011, Mr. Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will attend the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia and given that this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of NAM, Indonesia as the host, will organize a commemorative event as well.
NAM was initially founded by five countries, namely Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia in 1954, as a forum to exchange views on the political development during the Cold War period. As time passed, the movement expanded to include memberships from countries in Asia and Africa who were affected by colonialism.
In this regard, the first NAM Summit was officially held in 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (present-day Serbia). From discussions on international politics, the movement further expanded to include global issues, particularly economic and social issues, as well as act as a stage for coordination among developing countries on issues raised at the United Nations (UN).
Presently, NAM has 118 members, with 38 from Asia, 53 from Africa, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 1 from Eastern Europe. The upcoming NAM meeting will approve the membership of Fiji and Azerbaijan, increasing the number of NAM countries to a total of 120.
Joining NAM in 4 October 1993, Thailand recognized the Movement ‘s beneficial role to developing countries, including Thailand, and had thus regularly sent representatives to the NAM Ministerial as well as Leaders’ Conferences. For the meeting in Bali, Foreign Minister Kasit is scheduled to deliver a speech on “Shared vision on the contribution of NAM for the next 50 years” to express not only Thailand’s views on NAM, but also Thailand’s potential and expertise in fields such as the philosophy of sufficiency economy, the promotion of democracy and human rights, with a view to strengthening relations with fellow NAM members at both bilateral and international levels.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th