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| St. Kitts and Nevis' Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, SEPTEMBER 10TH 2006 - St. Kitts and Nevis' Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris left here on Saturday for Havana, Cuba to attend the 14th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit.
The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis and the Republic of Haiti will formally become members brining the number to 118.
At the summit, Cuba takes the reigns of NAM for a three-year period, the second time it has led the movement, the first being in 1979-1983.
Preceding the gathering that will bring together leaders from dozens of nations from around the globe, Cuba presented a draft final declaration targeting the most urgent challenges the movement faces. It prioritises Third World unity and adapting to the changes in the international scene during the last two decades.
Experts told Prensa Latina that neither the collapse of the Soviet Union and the socialist bloc, nor the one-sided world of today have undermined the spirit upon which the movement was built on in Belgrade, former Yugoslavia in 1961.
Officials of the Cuban Foreign Ministry said the nonalignment from the then-conflicting blocs (NATO and Warsaw Pact) continues to be valid today, irrespective of the end of the Cold War.
The Non-Aligned Movement seeks to keep world peace and security and promote development, economic cooperation and a democratisation of organisations such as the UN, which has yet to attain its original goals.
An element that also marks NAM is its active participation at world forums.
NAM is presently comprised of 53 African countries, 38 from Asia, 24 of Latin America and the Caribbean, and one of Europe (Belarus).
According to official data, these countries together possess 51 percent of the world's population, 53 percent of its coasts, 44 percent of its forests, 45 percent of its arable land and 86 percent of its oil reserves.
In agreement with the decision of the NAM presidencies of South Africa (1998-2003) and Malaysia (2003-2006) to reenergize the movement, Cuba seeks to foster an action plan to jump from rhetoric to concrete actions.
In the area of South-South cooperation, Cuba proposes development using some of its own experiences in health, education and the rational use of electric energy as well as reintroducing others such as culture and information.
~~Adz:Right~~Cuba supports the idea of policies reached by consensus, seeks improved coordination and cooperation with other Third World groupings like the Group of 77, and sees the need for sufficient follow up on the agreements reached at the NAM summits.
