Belgrade marks the 65th anniversary of the first Non-Aligned Movement conference, Vucic to meet with participating delegations today

A High-Level Commemorative Meeting dedicated to marking the 65th anniversary of the first conference of the Non-Aligned Movement countries will be held today and tomorrow in Belgrade. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will hold a series of bilateral meetings today at the Palace of Serbia with heads of delegations from the countries participating in the Commemorative Meeting, the Office for Media Cooperation of the President of the Republic announced.

A meeting with Vice President of the Republic of Uganda Jessica Alupo is scheduled for 12:30 p.m., followed at 1:15 p.m. by a meeting with President of the Autonomous Region of Zanzibar of the United Republic of Tanzania Hussein Ali Mwinyi, and at 2 p.m. by a meeting with Prime Minister of the Republic of Mozambique Maria Benvinda Levi.

Vucic will meet at 2:45 p.m. with First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sodiq Safoyev, and at 3:30 p.m. with President of the Parliament of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria Khalida Boufedeche.

Over the two days, Belgrade will host senior representatives of the “historic core” of participants in the first Non-Aligned Movement conference in 1961, as well as representatives of the Movement’s current Troika, Azerbaijan, Uganda, and Uzbekistan.

The gathering, as the Serbian Government announced, will provide an opportunity to recall the historic contribution of the Movement’s founding countries, as well as to consider its lasting legacy in a complex and dynamic international environment.

The decision by the Government of the Republic of Serbia to mark September 1 as Non-Aligned Day since last year provides further confirmation of the importance of this legacy, the statement also notes, thereby additionally affirming the historical significance of the Belgrade Conference and its contribution to the development of contemporary international relations.

“From the first Belgrade summit to the present day, the world has changed, but the value of the fundamental principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, peaceful coexistence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, equality of states, respect for international law and cooperation, transcends the historical context in which these principles were formulated,” the Serbian Government noted.

The upcoming High-Level Commemorative Meeting dedicated to marking the 65th anniversary of the first Non-Aligned Movement conference will provide an opportunity to examine the historical legacy of the Belgrade Conference and once again reaffirm a shared commitment to the United Nations Charter, international law and the spirit of multilateralism in the context of addressing global challenges, the statement concluded.