Azerbaijan to return the spirit of the Non-Aligned Movement to the European continent
News.Az reprints from 1news.az an article headlined "Azerbaijan to return the spirit of the Non-Aligned Movement to the European continent".
The Ministerial Conference of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which was held in Baku on April 5-6, anticipated a more significant event - the holding of a NAM summit in Baku in 2019, and thus the handing over a four-year presidency in the organization to Azerbaijan.
In addition to the fact that during the period of the chairmanship (2019-2022) Azerbaijan will exert maximum efforts to promote the principles underlying NAM, the Azerbaijani chairmanship in the organization has a symbolic meaning.
As the head of the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev noted, the symbolism is that the NAM has left the European continent since 1989, after the collapse of Yugoslavia, which was at the origins of the organization. However, today in Europe there is again a need for respect for the principles that NAM promotes.
"Thus, having held the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Baku in 2019, Azerbaijan will return the spirit and principles of this organization to the European continent," Hikmet Hajiyev said in an interview with 1news.az.
Among the basic principles underlying NAM is the refusal to participate in military-political blocs and the peaceful coexistence of peoples based on independence and equality. The cornerstone is respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, the inviolability of their state borders, as well as non-interference in internal affairs.
All these principles are close to Azerbaijan, which became a full member of NAM in 2011, and since then, according to Hikmet Hajiyev, is trying to support and extend the organization's principles at the regional and global levels.
According to Hikmet Hajiyev, during its forthcoming chairmanship in the organization, Azerbaijan will make maximum efforts to further promote the so-called "Bandung principles" as the basis of the Non-Aligned Movement, including on the European continent. Azerbaijan will also promote justice and the rule of law in international relations, he added.
The Bandung Conference (Indonesia) in 1955 marked the beginning of the development of NAM as a new trend in the system of international relations. The 29 member countries from Asia and Africa condemned colonialism in all its manifestations, racial segregation and discrimination.
In the Final Declaration, the participants of the Bandung Conference called upon the world community to economic and cultural cooperation, disarmament and the ban on the production, testing and use of atomic and thermonuclear weapons, and the settlement of disputes by peaceful means.
To date, NAM unites 120 of the 193 recognized countries of the world, which is about 2/3 of the composition of the UN General Assembly. The views and positions that are formulated within the framework of the NAM are also synchronized to some extent with the agenda of the UN General Assembly.
"What we are discussing today on the platform of the Non-Aligned Movement tomorrow in one way or another can be reflected in the agenda of the UN General Assembly," Hikmet Hajiyev said.
According to him, NAM is an important institution: "Azerbaijan sees this organization as a significant platform for voicing its fears and expressing its interests at the international level. It is also a unique opportunity for developing bilateral cooperation with like-minded people. "
"The vision of the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement confirms Azerbaijan's foreign policy strategy, which is an active participant in the international community, participates in international discussions, remaining aloof from any military blocs and alliances."
Participants of NAM express support for each other in many significant issues. Thus, the Baku Ministerial Conference adopted a declaration, 6 points of which are directly related to Azerbaijan.
In particular, in some points, NAM members express support for Azerbaijan's initiative to hold the organization's summit next year and Azerbaijan's chairmanship for the next 4 years. In some points they support the Baku nomination for the World Expo in 2025.
However, the most important item that was included in the document adopted at the conference, the head of the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Hikmet Hajiyev, considers the one concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"Representatives of 120 countries, which are almost a majority in the UN General Assembly, unanimously expressed their concern over the fact of the unresolved conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which continues to threaten regional and international security," Hikmet Hajiyev said.
"The participating countries reaffirmed the principles of non-use of force as prescribed in the UN Charter, and also called on the parties to the conflict to seek an agreed solution to the conflict within the territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognized borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan," he added.
Gratitude to the member states of the NAM for support in the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict was expressed at the opening of the ministerial conference in Baku and by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
"We, the members of the Non-Aligned Movement, want to live an independent life, without a pointer from the side," said the President, thanking the NAM member countries for their support in resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict on the basis of the UN Security Council resolutions that require the withdrawal of Armenian troops.
"Our strength is in solidarity. Together we can achieve a lot," Ilham Aliyev said.
News.Az
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