Serbian PM Djuro Macut on Non-Aligned Movement Day: Restore old friendships, establish perspectives

Photo: Tanjug/Serbian Government/Slobodan Miljevic

The government has decided to start marking September 1 as Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Day, and Serbian PM Djuro Macut today, together with National Assembly President Ana Brnabic and the ambassadors of India, Indonesia, Ghana, and Egypt visited an exhibition in the House of the National Assembly dedicated to the first NAM conference, that was held in Belgrade in 1961.

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Noting that the Non-Aligned Movement Day is being marked this year, Prime Minister Macut pointed out that the idea is to restore the importance of old friendships and to establish perspectives for the future.

"I am extremely pleased that today, together with Ana Brnabic, I am hosting the founders of the Non-Aligned Movement, that is, representatives of the five countries, including Serbia as the successor of Yugoslavia," Macut told Tanjug.

He recalled that the first NAM Summit was held in the building of the Serbian National Assembly in 1961.

The Serbian PM pointed out that the founders at the time laid the foundation for today's large movement that gathers 120 countries, in which Serbia now has observer status.

"We are maintaining those historic ideas about a world that is not divided into the East and the West, the Cold War divisions, and which represents a look into the future of the 21st century," said Macut.

Indonesian ambassador to Serbia Andreano Erwin told Tanjug that he was satisfied by today's meeting in the parliament, where a beautiful memory had been created and should be preserved.

After the meeting with PM Djuro Macut, National Assembly President Ana Brnabic and fellow ambassadors, the Indonesian diplomat pointed out that such meetings are an opportunity to deepen cooperation between countries.

"On behalf of my colleagues from Egypt, Ghana, and India, we are very delighted that the prime minister and the president of the Assembly of Serbia invited us here. I believe that next year will be very important because it marks the 65th anniversary of the founding of the movement," said Erwin.

64 years ago today, the First Conference of Heads of State and Government of Non-Aligned Countries began in Belgrade, which was attended by representatives of 25 countries and 40 anti-colonial and liberation movements.

After six days of work, those gathered adopted the principles the newly established movement.

Visitors can now see the exhibition in the House of the Serbian National Assembly, including how the press of the time reported about the event, with one of the headlines reading, "A magnificent peace gathering in Belgrade."

It was also reported that the leaders unanimously expressed their faith in the powers supporting peace in the world.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)