The Non-Aligned Movement is Serbia’s strong trump card in the battle for Kosovo

The invitation to President Aleksandar Vucic to attend the next congress of the Non-Aligned Movement in January next year in Kampala is a chance for Serbia to strengthen old partnerships and friendships, Novosti writes.

At the same time, to better distribute economic interests on a global level, but also to improve its negotiating position when it comes to the status of Kosovo, taking into account that most non-bloc countries have not recognized its independence.

According to "Novosti", these are the main effects that the first man of Serbia could achieve after accepting the invitation sent during the visit by the leader of Uganda, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, whose country is the host of the meeting. Bearing in mind that our country still inherits the tradition of the non-aligned that it now has observer status and that it is the largest grouping of countries after the United Nations, it is important that we catch up again in cooperation with them. Also, taking into account that one of the 10 principles on which this organization rests is respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all people and that more than 60 members of the Movement have not recognized the independence of Kosovo, it is an additional opportunity in the diplomatic field.

Both the leaders of Serbia and Uganda, in the greater part of their joint address, evoked the memory of the fruitful cooperation from the time of Yugoslavia, which could be renewed.

"We discussed the development of cooperation, economic integration, and projects on which we could work together because Serbia continues to renew and strengthen its old partnerships while building new bridges for the future with sincere friends," Vucic said during the meeting.

According to the opinion of the former head of diplomacy and Ambassador Zivadin Jovanovic, former colonies, and now independent states, have sensibility for our kind of problems regarding Kosovo.

"A number of non-aligned countries are currently faced with separatism and terrorism, with artificial borders and a multi-ethnic composition. These are the countries that make up the outright majority of world organizations. The movement has 120 members, which is the majority of the UN. Given that Serbia's interests are to strengthen the support for sovereignty, and territorial integrity, in accordance with the UN Charter, Resolution 1244, our country can further expand the support of members of the world organization. This would be the catching up in global relations, which is characterized by the opening of space for fairer and more democratic relations in which principles and international law will be more respected," Jovanovic says.

As Jovanovic explains, Serbia should not be intimidated by the fact that it is economically dependent only on the European Union, whose interests it must obey at all costs, but that it should look for partners in other parts of the world, which does not jeopardize cooperation with the EU.

"In global realignments, it is natural that Serbia in the south and among the Movement is looking for a partner both in terms of trade cooperation, in investment projects, infrastructure, as well as in the areas of defense, security, technology transfer, food production, and implementation of irrigation projects. All the way to cooperation in the purely political sphere within international organizations, primarily the UN," he adds.

In 2011, Belgrade hosted more than 100 delegations to mark half a century of the Movement, while ten years later, in 2021, a gathering was also held in the Serbian capital on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its founding. And then messages were sent that Serbia, that is, Yugoslavia, which was one of the founders (the first summit was held in Belgrade in 1961), deserves a much more important place in the Movement, and that this does not necessarily mean that it will harm our European path. The Movement, which has 120 members and 17 observers, was created as an idea to be a political alternative for countries that want to avoid commitment to one military-political bloc and articulate a foreign policy approach, while the Cold War was at its peak.