After attending the 19th NAM Summit in the Ugandan capital city Kampala, Foreign Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud will lead the Bangladesh delegation at the "South Summit" which will be held with the theme “Leaving No One Behind.”
The third South Summit, scheduled to begin on January 21, looks to bring a new dynamic to the cooperation among its 134 Member States of the Group of 77 in a more competitive world.
The Foreign Minister reached the Ugandan capital on Friday afternoon, said a senior official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen and Bangladesh envoys to the UN and Kenya are also in Uganda to attend the NAM Summit and South Summit.
The South Summit aims at boosting South-South cooperation including in the areas of trade, investment, sustainable development, climate change, poverty eradication, and digital economy.
In Kampala, the 134 Member States will reiterate the message of solidarity, unity, and complementarity of the South and speak with a unified voice to achieve their common goals and objectives.
By hosting the Third South Summit, the Republic of Uganda, under the leadership of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni inaugurates a new agenda for a prosperous, united and stronger South.
The Foreign Minister is scheduled to leave the Ugandan capital for Dhaka on January 22.
The 19th NAM Summit themed: “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence”, will continue till January 20 at the Speke Resort Munyonyo Convention Centre.
Established in 1961, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) – which shares 44 of its 120 members with the Commonwealth – is a grouping of mostly developing countries working together to advance shared interests.
At the ministerial level meeting, Bangladesh called for greater unity and solidarity among the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member-States to ensure shared global prosperity.
Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, who led the Bangladesh delegation at the ministerial-level meeting, referred to the statement of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman at the NAM Summit in Algiers in 1973 where Bangabandhu emphasised the principles of self-reliance and effective economic cooperation among the non-aligned countries which is still relevant after 50 years.
The two-day ministerial meeting on NAM ended on January 18 after finalising the outcome document, Kampala Declaration and declaration on Palestine which are expected to be adopted in the 19th NAM Summit scheduled to be held on January 19-20.
The foreign secretary also highlighted the progresses achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and mentioned that the people of Bangladesh re-elected her through a "free, fair, peaceful and participatory" election, to continue her march towards development and prosperity.
He also called for establishing effective mechanisms inside the NAM to help the NAM countries from LDC graduation and also to deal with the aftermath of the graduation.
The foreign secretary also attended the meeting of the NAM Ministerial Committee on Palestine and reiterated Bangladesh’s unequivocal support for the legitimate right and just struggle of the Palestinian people for their freedom from Israeli occupation and oppression.
He also urged the members of the Movement to use all tools available to secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.