19th NAM Summit: India’s Participation, Objective, Regional Engagement, NAM History, Achievement & Significance

19th NAM Summit Overview

NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) two-day summit held in Kampala, Uganda in January 2024. It is hosted by Uganda under its Chairmanship from 2023-2026. The theme of 19th NAM summit is 'Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence'. This summit brings together leaders/representatives of 120+ NAM member countries. The summit signifies continued relevance of NAM principles promoting interests of developing world. As a founding NAM member, India sent External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar to actively participate.

On sidelines, he held bilateral discussions with nations like Egypt, Belarus and regional meetings with countries like Maldives, Angola - signalling India's growing partnerships across regions.

India's Objectives and Stance at Summit

• Underscores India's abiding commitment to NAM ideals forged under Nehru's leadership
• Opportunity to consolidate ties with member states from Asia, Africa, LatAm
• Showcase India as emerging poles of global growth next only to China
• Pitch India's technology and development partnership model to fellow developing countries
• Position India as a moderating voice advocating dialogue amid conflicts
• Support multilateral collaboration on issues like food security, climate change impact mitigation that affect Global South countries disproportionately

Summit allows India to reaffirm solidarity with NAM partners and its leadership as significant power ready to champion causes aligned to interest of the developing world.

Bilateral Meetings Held with Nations

During his Uganda visit, EAM Jaishankar held useful discussions with counterparts from key nations like:

Egypt

• Appreciates insights shared on conflict situation in Gaza and Palestine issue
• Discussed advancing bilateral cooperation building on 2023 leadership-level visits
• Egypt an influential regional voice and NAM member - important for India's Africa outreach

Belarus

• Reviewed ongoing economic and technical collaboration
• Exchanged perspectives on Russia-Ukraine conflict. Emphasized diplomatic solutions.
• Belarus as Russia's ally, faced with sanctions - scope for India trade

Strengthening Regional Engagements

Maldives

• Discussed expediting infra projects awarded to India through LoC grants
• Reviewed scope for maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean
• Also explored opportunities within groupings like SAARC and BIMSTEC

Angola

• Talks focused on rapidly expanding India-Angola ties
• Angola thanks India as an important partner in Africa sharing development experiences
• Scope identified for cooperation in food security, healthcare access, digital connectivity

Multilateral Progress Highlights

Examples like Angola offering visa-free access to Indian nationals highlights the bilateral dividends from India's multilateral outreach. More takeaways:

Global South Unity

• NAM Summit every 3 years bolsters solidarity among post-colonial developing societies of Asia, Africa and LatAm.

India's Leadership

• Opportunity for India to emerge as spokesperson for concerns affecting most NAM member states due to vulnerabilities.

South-South Partnerships

• Platform to build economic, tech and capacity building partnerships with Global South guided by southern needs and experiences.

History of Non Aligned Movement

Cold War Context

NAM took shape in 1950s-60s when newly decolonized Asian, Arab, African nations sought strategic autonomy amid US vs USSR rivalry instead of alliance with either bloc.

1955 Bandung Conference

The seeds emerged at this gathering of 29 African and Asian states led by Yugoslavia’s President Josip Broz Tito, Indonesia's Sukarno, Burma's U Nu, India's Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Ghana's Vama N Krumah and Egypt's Nasser.

Official Launch in 1961

Formal launch at 1961 Belgrade Summit under Yugoslavia's Tito. Key early leaders included Nehru, Nasser, N krumah.

NAM: Key Achievements/Significance over the Years

Policy Autonomy for Post-Colonial States

NAM allowed newly independent countries forge independent domestic and foreign policies expressing national priorities rather than conforming to power blocs.

Spearheading Decolonization in Asia and Africa

NAM led the charge for completing decolonization - opposing Apartheid, calling for sanctions against South Africa, demand for Palestine statehood etc

Democratization of Global Governance

The movement pushed for equitable representation of southern countries across world bodies like the United Nations via frameworks like United Nations Conference on Trade and Development or the New International Economic Order.