Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 17, 2016 (SKNIS)–Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris participated in the 17th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) held in Margarita, Venezuela. Prime Minister Harris was accompanied by Minister of Public Infrastructure, the Hon. Ian “Patches” Liburd. The St Kitts and Nevis delegation is the special guest of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which has provided accommodation and transportation to and from the summit.
Prime Minister Harris said that the visit allowed his delegation to discuss matters of bi-lateral interest between St Kitts and Nevis and Venezuela and also to renew friendships with many countries within the Non-Aligned Movement. Countries of the Non–Aligned Movement represent nearly two-thirds of the United Nations’ members and account for fifty five per cent of the world’s population. St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Haiti and Dominica became Members of NAM in 2006.
Leaders and representatives from more than 122 countries including Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti, Suriname, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, along with St Kitts and Nevis took part in the Summit. This Conference of Heads of State and Government is being held under the theme “United on the Path for Peace”.
The opening ceremony was addressed by the outgoing Chairman of NAM, H.E. Mr. Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the incoming Chairman H.E. Mr. Nicolas Maduro Moros, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations also addressed the Summit. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is the second largest international organisation in the world after the United Nations (UN).
