NEW DELHI: Sixty-five years after Belgrade hosted the first summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, India will return to the Serbian capital with Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju leading the country’s delegation to a high-level commemorative meeting on August 31 and September 1.
The meeting, themed “The Legacy of Non-Alignment: Lessons for Today’s World,” will revisit the founding principles of a movement that emerged from the Cold War and continues to bring together 121 developing countries.
Belgrade carries particular historical weight. The Non-Aligned Movement was formally founded in the city on September 1, 1961, when leaders of 25 countries gathered for the first Conference of Heads of State or Government. The initiative was spearheaded by Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito and Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, alongside leaders including Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah and Indonesia’s Sukarno.
The movement grew out of the spirit of the 1955 Bandung Conference, where newly independent Asian and African nations sought to chart an independent course rather than align themselves with either Cold War bloc. Its founding agenda emphasised sovereignty, anti-colonialism, peaceful coexistence, disarmament and economic development.
Serbia has also sought to revive the historical significance of the movement’s birthplace. Its government last year designated September 1 as Non-Aligned Day, highlighting the enduring place of the Belgrade summit in the country’s diplomatic history. The Serbian government has described the commemorative gathering as an opportunity to recall the “historic contribution” of NAM’s founding countries while examining its “lasting legacy” in a complex and rapidly changing global environment.
India, a founding member of NAM, has maintained that the movement’s principles remain relevant even after the end of the Cold War. The first Belgrade summit brought together nations united by opposition to colonialism and a shared emphasis on development and sovereign decision-making.