New Delhi: Vice President Hamid Ansari on Thursday left for Venezuela to attend the 17th NAM Summit during which key issues of concern like terrorism, UN reform, climate change and nuclear disarmament are expected to be discussed.
Ansari is leading the Indian delegation in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is only the second Indian Premier to give the Cold War-era bloc's summit a miss after Charan Singh in 1979.
The summit, which started on Tuesday and will end on September 18, is taking place in Venezuela's Margarita Island and has meetings scheduled in three consecutive segments-- officials-level, foreign ministers' meet, and a conference of heads of state and government.
Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar is already in Venezuela to take part in the deliberations while, Ansari will reach the country after an overnight halt in Berlin.
"The summit is expected to deliberate on issues of contemporary relevance and concern such as terrorism, UN reform, the situation in West Asia, threats to peace and security," according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
UN peacekeeping operations, climate change, sustainable development, economic governance, south-south cooperation, refugees and migrants, and nuclear disarmament will also be discussed, the statement said.
"All these issues are of relevance in the context of the discussions that will take place at the United Nations in coming months," it said.
The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Margarita is expected to bring together leaders from 120 developing countries that are its members. The NAM Summits are among the largest gatherings of countries, after the United Nations.
NAM is also an important forum for interaction with partner countries across continents, including from Africa, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs), with whom India has long-standing development partnerships in a spirit of south-south cooperation, the statement said.
"NAM continues to represent space for action in pursuance of the collective interests of the developing world, along with the G-77, especially on subject such as the reform of the global economic system and disarmament. At the United Nations, the NAM is an influential grouping on a range of issues such as UN peacekeeping and disarmament," it said.
