The Summit of the Contact Group of the Non-Aligned Movement was opened in Baku, with Minister Dačić participating

The Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement was officially opened in Baku, in the format of a Contact Group, at which the head of Serbian diplomacy, Ivica Dačić will address those attending the Summit. The meeting, dedicated to the fight against the Corona virus, was opened by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, who called on those present to observe a minute's silence for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

He expressed his deepest condolences to the families of the deceased. Aliyev reminded that Azerbaijan had established a special fund for donations to the most vulnerable groups of countries in Africa, as well as developing island states. "As the second largest international institution after the UN, the Non-Aligned Movement should play a more visible and effective role in the international arena and actively participate in the reshaping of the new world order," Aliyev said. He thanked the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement for their firm position to support, as he said, the just position of Azerbaijan and not allow "one-sided and biased anti-Azerbaijani statements to pass in the UN Security Council in 2022 and 2022".

At the Summit of the Contact Group, the message of UN Secretary General António Guterres was also read, in which he assessed that in the 21^st century the importance of the Non-Aligned Movement in terms of multilateralism was increasing. "The pandemic has affected everyone. 6.5 million people died in the world, and inequality increased. At the same time, the pandemic had a major impact on unemployment. Women and youth became unemployed. The pandemic had a devastating effect," Guterres said. He pointed out that there had to be an intervention in the global management system in order for the recovery measures from the pandemic to be effective.

The director of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said in a video message that the pandemic was ending and that now every country should do what is necessary to prepare for possible future pandemics and recover from the consequences of Covid 19. He thanked Azerbaijan for presiding over the Non-Aligned Movement, but also pointed out that all countries could learn from the collective efforts of member countries.

The President of the 77^th UN General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, pointed out that the pandemic showed the importance of solidarity, not only within countries, but also beyond. "Covid reminded us that the principles from Bandung are still important," said Kőrösi and stated that we should look for innovative solutions in terms of the pandemic that will make the world safer. Kőrösi emphasised the need for a "new normality" based on science, digitisation, innovation and new technologies, adding that this was the key to creating a more inclusive society.

Source: Tanjug