NAM Summit at Egypts

The 15th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) begins at Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh, a seafront resort overlooking the Red Sea. Around 60 heads of state and government are expected to attend the NAM Summit being held this time with the theme 'International Solidarity for Peace and Development', suiting the present times of strife in different corners of the world. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is already in Cairo to attend the summit.
About 110 countries will be represented at the meet that focuses on economic, development and social issues confronting the 118 member-nations as well as the world community as a whole. Egypt is hosting the NAM Summit for the second time after 1964. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will take over the rotating chair from Cuban leader Raul Castro at the inaugural session of the summit at Maritim Congress Center today. UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon will address the opening session. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasian also will make a statement at the summit.
The NAM was launched in 1961 by Egypt's President Jemal Abdul Naser, India's Prime Minister Jawaherlal Nehru, Yugoslovia's President Josheph Tito and Indonesa's Presdident Ahmed Shukorno along with some other leaders to voice the hopes and aspiration of the developing and poor countries of the 'Third World' at a time when the socialist block led by Soviet Russia and the capitalist free world led by United States of America were locked in the bitter cold war. Since its inception NAM tried to maintain equi-distance from the two blocks led by the two super powers and advance the political and economic causes of the nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America and contributed spectacularly to the emergence of a good number of independent states from colonial rule. NAM achieved significant success in the developing nations' struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, fascism, racism, hegemonism and economic exploitation.
Now that the cold war is a matter of the past following the collapse of socialist block, the relevance of non-aligned movement has largely reduced, but not disappeared because of the fact that the dominance of the north on the south still persists, the economic exploitation of the developing nations still continues and some Asian and African countries have been turned into centres of armed conflicts and growing tension. The Palestinians are yet to get their independent homeland with Jerusalem as its capital, the people of Iraq and Afghanistan are yet to be freed from foreign subjugation. The need to speak in a single voice on these as well as other vital issues such as the global recession and climate change has, rather, made it most imperative to strengthen the NAM.
Alive to this prime necessity, the NAM members are set to discuss current global issues from recession to climate change and put forward suggestions and recommendations. The summit is expected to adopt two documents--the Final Document outlining the common position on various issues and the Sharm el-Sheikh Declaration focusing on the development of the group. It is hoped that through this summit the NAM will grow stronger and its quest for peace, progress, and development as well as solidarity against global threats and challenges will get momentum.