16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement

The 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was held from 26 to 31 August 2012 in Tehran, Iran. The summit was attended by leaders of 120 countries,George, Varghese. "NAM summit: India says no to foreign intervention in Syria ," Hindustan Times, 30 August 2012. including 24 presidents, 3 kings, 8 prime ministers and 50 foreign ministers.

The summit's framework was the "Final Document" adopted during the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Coordinating Bureau which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 7 to 10 May. The Foreign Ministry also said that the agenda would primarily consist of issues pertaining to nuclear disarmament, human rights and regional issues. Iran also intended to draw up a new peace resolution aiming to resolve the Syrian civil war.

The summit consisted of two preceding events: a "Senior Officials Meeting" on 26 and 27 August 2012, and a "Ministerial Meeting" on 28 and 29 August 2012. The leaders summit took place on 30 and 31 August. Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi officially handed the presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during the inaugural ceremony of Leaders' Meeting. Iran will hold the NAM presidency for four years until the 17th summit in Venezuela in 2016.

Officials Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Chairman of the 16th session MohammadAli Zohreei Deputy Secretary, Finance and Conference Support Mohammad sheikhan Deputy of communications and information of the organizing headquarters Babak Mohammadkhani Responsible for communications and special follow-ups of the holding headquartersMohammad Javad Aghajari The head of the foreign media committee of the vice president of communications of the holding headquarters Mohammad Reza Furqani Spokesperson of the organizing committee Mustafa Senjari Graphic designer - Summit logo designer Ali Saeedlou Head of the holding staff

Overview

As of August 2012, the organisation consists of 120 member states, including the non-UN member state of Palestine, and 21 other observer countries. The countries of the Non-Aligned Movement represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations' members and contain 55% of the world's population.Grant, Cedric. "Equity in Third World Relations: A Third World Perspective". International Affairs 71, 3 (1995), 567–587.

Since the Non-Aligned Movement was formed in an attempt not to take sides during the Cold War, it has sought to seek a new direction since the fall of the Soviet Union. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, a founding member, its membership was suspended in 1992 at the regular ministerial meeting held in New York during the regular annual session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Organization The summit was scheduled to be held at Kish Island but it was transferred to Tehran in 2010. According to Vice President Ali Saeedlou, who is the head of the organising committee, up to 7,000 participants – including delegations and the media – are expected to attend the summit. To prepare for the meeting and reduce traffic and air pollution, a five-day public holiday in Tehran has been called for the duration of the summit. Parts of Tehran have been beautified with lamp posts and freshly painted road markings. Roads around the summit venue will be closed to all but official vehicles. Iran's deputy police chief Ahmad Reza Radan stated "The police are on full alert during the Non-Aligned Movement summit." In addition, to raise security of the event, visa-free entry to Iran normally offered to nationals from several countries has been temporarily suspended.

The "Senior Officials Meeting" and "Ministerial Meeting" convened at the "IRIB International Conference Center" (IICC). The summit was held at "Tehran's Summit Conference Hall".

Participants

A spokesman of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that 24 presidents, 3 kings, 8 vice presidents, 8 prime ministers, 50 foreign ministers attended at the summit. By the first day of the summit, 110 delegations arrived Tehran.

Ali Akbar Salehi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, announced that the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, would attend the conference. He also invited leaders of Russia, Turkey and Brazil to the summit. Mohamed Morsi, ex-president of NAM and the Egyptian President, also announced that he would participate in the summit. He was the first leader of his country to visit Iran since the Islamic revolution.

Iran reportedly cancelled an invitation to Saudi Arabia to attend the summit. However, it was later announced that Abdulaziz bin Abdullah, Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister, would participate in the summit upon the invitation of Saudi Arabia.

Member Represented by Title Afghanistan Hamid Karzai President Algeria Mourad MedelciAlgerian Parliament Speaker Entered Tehran Foreign Minister Azerbaijan Elmar MammadyarovElmar Mammadyarov to represent Azerbaijan in NAM Tehran Summit Foreign Minister Bahrain Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa Foreign Minister Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina Prime Minister Belarus Vladimir Makei Foreign Minister Benin Yayi Boni President Bhutan Jigme Thinley Prime Minister Bolivia Álvaro García Linera Vice President Brunei Darussalam Pengiran Muda Mohamed Bolkiah Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Burkina Faso Blaise Compaoré President Cambodia Hun Sen Prime Minister Central African Republic François Bozizé President Colombia Angelino Garzón Vice President Comoros Nourdine Bourhane Vice President Chile Alfredo Moreno Foreign Minister Cuba Jose Ramon Machado Vice President Djibouti Ismail Omar Guellehروسای جمهور تاجیکستان، جیبوتی و افریقای مرکزی وارد تهران شدند President Ecuador Lenín Moreno Vice President Egypt Mohamed Morsi President Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba President Ghana Muhammad Mumuni Foreign Minister Guinea-Bissau Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo President Jordan Hassan bin TalalJordan's special envoy arrives in Tehran for NAM summit Deputy Prime Minister India Manmohan Singh Prime Minister Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (host) President Iraq Nouri al-Maliki Prime Minister Indonesia Boediono Vice President Kazakhstan Yerzhan Kazykhanov Foreign Minister Kuwait Muhammad Sabahامير کويت در اجلاس سران غيرمتعهدها شرکت نمی‌کند Young Journalists Club Deputy Prime Minister Lebanon Michel Suleiman President LesothoMohlabi Tsekoa Foreign Minister Libya Ashour Bin Khayal Foreign Minister Malaysia Anifah Aman Foreign Minister Mali Tiéman Coulibaly Foreign Minister Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz President Mauritius Arvin Boolell Foreign Minister Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj President Morocco Abdelillah Benkirane Prime Minister Mozambique Arlete Matola Minister of the Presidential Office Myanmar Wunna Maung Lwin Foreign Minister NamibiaMarco Hausiku Foreign Minister Nepal Baburam Bhattarai Prime Minister Nicaragua Samuel Santos López Foreign Minister NigeriaNamadi Sambo Vice president Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Kim Yong-nam President Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari President Palestine Mahmoud Abbas President Philippines Jejomar Binay Vice President Oman Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah Foreign Minister Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al ThaniEmir to attend Tehran summit Emir Saudi Arabia Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al Saud Deputy Foreign Minister Senegal Macky Sall President Singapore Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam Foreign Minister South Africa Maite Nkoana-Mashabane Foreign Minister Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa President Sudan Omar al-Bashir President Swaziland Lutfo Dlamini Foreign Minister Syria Wael Nader al-Halqiنخست وزیر سوریه وارد تهران شد Prime Minister Tanzania Mohamed Gharib Bilal Vice President Thailand Surapong Tovichakchaikul Foreign Minister Tunisia Rafik Abdessalem Foreign Minister Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedowورود رییس جمهور ترکمنستان به تهران برای شرکت در اجلاس عدم تعهد ISNA President Uganda Yoweri Museveni President United Arab Emirates Saud bin RashidUAE sends ruler of Umm al-Qaiwain to NAM summit in Tehran Vice President Venezuela Elías Jaua Vice President Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung Prime Minister Zambia Guy Scott Vice President Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe PresidentObservers Nation Represented by Title Armenia Eduard Nalbandyan Foreign Minister Bosnia and Herzegovina Željko Jerkić Ambassador and Department Head (Foreign Ministry) Brazil Michel Temer Vice President China Zhang Zhijun Deputy Foreign Minister Croatia Budimir Lončar Advisor to the President Montenegro Zoran Janković General Director (Foreign Ministry) Serbia Ivan Mrkić Foreign Minister Tajikistan Emomali Rahmonov PresidentInvited nations (Guests) Nation Represented by Title Australia Gary Quinlan U.N. Ambassador of Australia El Salvador Felix Ulloa Vice President Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov Governor of the Osh region Mexico Russian Federation Dmitry Kozak Deputy Prime Minister Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Mohamed Yeslem Beisat Ambassador South Korea Switzerland Wolfgang Amadeus Bruelhart Director of the Middle East Turkey Cevdet Yılmaz Development Minister Uruguay Tabare Vazquez Vice PresidentObserver organisations Organization Represented by Title African Union Yayi Boni Chairperson Arab League Nabil el-Arabyنبیل العربی وارد تهران شد Secretary General OIC Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu Secretary General United Nations Ban Ki-moon Secretary-General United Nations General Assembly Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser President Group of 77 Mourad Benmehidi Chairman

Pre-summit responses Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad commented on the significance of the summit in Iran: "Certain NAM states too have upheld sanctions against Iran which is a totally unwise move because the sanctions are not on part of the UN, rather unilaterally levelled by the US The U.S. can issue any sort of sanctions it wants against Iran but there is no reason other countries to follow suit."

An Iranian government official also commented on the summit, reportedly saying that "the NAM summit is the best opportunity to confront the sanctions." He added that "in meetings with the officials of [fellow] member states, we should brief them on the illegality of these sanctions and talk to them to make these sanctions ineffective."“MP Sees NAM Summit as Best Chance to Confront Anti-Iran Sanctions” , "Fars News Agency", 14 August 2012

Agenda

The base of the summit's negotiations' framework is the "Final Document" adopted during the Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Coordinating Bureau which was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, from 7 to 10 May 2012.

The Foreign Ministry also said that the agenda would primarily consist of issues pertaining to nuclear disarmament, human rights and regional issues. Iran also intended to draw up a new peace resolution aiming to resolve the Syrian civil war.

Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi opened the first meeting and spoke of NAM's original goal: "We believe that the timetable for ultimate removal of nuclear weapons by 2025, which was proposed by NAM, will only be realised if we follow it up decisively." At the opening of the ministerial meeting Khamenei said: "The UN Security Council has an irrational, unjust and utterly undemocratic structure, and this is an overt dictatorship. The control room of the world (the Security Council) is under the control of the dictatorship of some Western countries." Al Jazeera interpreted Moon's reaction as "nonplussed."

Senior Officials Meeting