India News | Easy for External Force to Divide NAM, Need to Introspect: India

New Delhi, Jul 6 (PTI) India on Thursday said the Non-Aligned Movement has made it easy for external forces to divide it and that it needed to rework its act if it aspires to shape the global agenda.

India also slammed Pakistan for raising bilateral issues at the forum.

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Addressing the Ministerial Committee of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Baku, Sanjay Verma, secretary (West), Ministry of External Affairs said discussions at the senior officials meeting (SOM) demonstrated that the movement has made it easy for external players to divide the grouping.

He also slammed Pakistan for bringing bilateral issues to the NAM agenda in "blatant violation" of the Bandung principles.

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"It is regretful that the sanctity of our platform was again predictably demeaned. We reject their unfounded and baseless remarks. We do hope that they introspect on where they find themselves, and what has bought them there," Verma said.

The Non-Aligned Movement is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.

The diplomat asked why a movement that came together to offer an alternative world view in face of the then two major power blocks was "succumbing", and "unable to stand up for its own members".

He suggested that the least NAM could do was reserve some public display of affection for its own members.

Referring to the more than 1,300-paragraph outcome document of NAM, Verma wondered if anybody, other than the negotiators, would ever be tempted to read it.

"Shouldn't our outcome documents be more succinct and reader-friendly so that our youth remains interested and invested in our movement?" he said.

The senior official also pointed out that at least half of the final outcome document was dated and anchored in formulations agreed decades back.

"Does that really make NAM in tune with times and reflective of contemporary realities? Our rich and historical legacy should not blind side us to addressing pressing challenges of our times," he said.

Verma also asserted that established procedures of the NAM grouping need to be respected and honoured.

"That has helped the Movement survive six decades of the Cold and post Cold War era," he said.

He also noted that the NAM included large parts of the developing world, the Global South which has borne the collateral damages of these uncertainties and conflicts, and suffered disruptions of supply chains which were not entirely of their own making.

"The 4Fs that matter the most to the developing world -- Food, Finance, Fuel and Fertilisers – must be made available to them with certainty, transparency and equity," he said.

"As members of the NAM, it is important for us to stand by our friends in the developing world who are in distress and grappling with existential issues," Verma said.

The diplomat added that India's ongoing presidency of the G20 has placed the concerns of the Global South at the forefront of G20 leaders' agenda.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)