Online Reporter
Columbus Mabika
Herald Reporter
ZIMBABWE wants the non-aligned world to translate numerical weight into political influence, speak with unity on the priorities of the Global South and work for a more representative, equitable and democratic international system.
Minister of Defence Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri set out these goals in her presentation during the 65th anniversary summit of the Non-Aligned Movement Heads of State and Government in Belgrade, Serbia, yesterday.
Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri was representing President Mnangagwa, who was attending the inauguration of Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema in Lusaka.
She said the movement represented shared responsibility for global equality and freedom of nations.
NAM was founded in 1961 in Bandung, Indonesia.
“The journey we commemorate today began in the spirit of Bandung. That spirit found institutional expression here in Belgrade in September 1961, when the Movement’s founding leaders transformed a shared aspiration into a collective force for peace, sovereign equality and the freedom of nations to determine their own destinies,” she said.
“We pay tribute to those visionary leaders and to all who carried their ideals forward. Today, sixty-five years later, the principles that brought them together remain as relevant as ever: fidelity to the Charter of the United Nations; respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity; sovereign equality and self-determination; non-interference; the peaceful settlement of disputes and international cooperation.”
Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said the commemorative meetings held in 2011, 2021 and now in Serbia had helped to preserve the Belgrade spirit and the institutional memory of the Movement.
“We commend this enduring commitment; this anniversary calls upon us not merely to honour the past, but to confront the urgent challenges of the present with renewed unity and purpose,” she said.
The anniversary came amid the proliferation of protracted armed conflicts, heightened geopolitical rivalries, widening inequalities, mounting debt burdens and escalating climate crises that called for unity to overcome.
Multilateralism was under severe strain, while developing countries remained inadequately represented in many of the institutions and decision-making processes that shaped the world.
For Zimbabwe, the anniversary, Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said, carried profound historical significance.
“Our friendship with Serbia is rooted in the solidarity extended by the former Yugoslavia during Zimbabwe’s struggle for independence. Belgrade became home to some of our freedom fighters, who benefited from educational, material, logistical and moral support,” she said.
Zimbabwe’s hosting of the 8th NAM Summit in 1986 placed a newly independent Zimbabwe at the heart of NAM, at a defining moment and enabled the country to contribute to the evolution of the movement by advancing solidarity among developing countries, and reinforcing the struggle against colonialism and apartheid.
President Mnangagwa, Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said, expressed profound gratitude for the overwhelming support extended to Zimbabwe’s candidature for the United Nations non-permanent Security Council seat.
