Ansari arrives in Venezuela to attend NAM Summit

From Asim Kamal Margarita Island (Venezuela), Sep 17 (PTI) Vice PresidentHamid Ansari arrived here today to attend the 17th NAM Summitduring which India is expected to raise its concerns overterrorism besides deliberating on key issues like UN reform,climate change and nuclear disarmament. Ansari was received by Venezuela’s Executive VicePresident Aristobuli Isturiz at the Santiago Mariño CaribbeanInternational Airport here and was accorded a ceremonialwelcome. The Vice President is leading the Indian delegation inthe absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is only thesecond Indian Premier to give the Cold War-era bloc’s summit amiss after Charan Singh in 1979. While briefing reporters on his way to the summit beingheld in Venezuela’s Margarita Island, Ansari had said Indiawill strongly take up its concerns about terrorism at thesummit as it has been doing so at all international forums. "Yes we are doing it (raising concerns over terrorism) onall fora and certainly it (NAM) is an important forum and wewill take it up, no question about it," Ansari told reporterson his way to attend the NAM summit. "Terror is something which impedes everything. If ourobjective is development, then terror cuts right across it. Weneed peace, we need social peace, we need internationalpeaceÂ…both these are being interrupted by terror," he hadsaid. During his three-day visit from Friday evening (earlySaturday morning India time) to Sunday, Ansari will also holdbilateral meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of thesummit. "The summit is expected to deliberate on issues ofcontemporary relevance and concern such as terrorism, UNreform, the situation in West Asia, threats to peace andsecurity, UN peacekeeping operations, climate change,sustainable development, economic governance, south-southcooperation, refugees and migrants, and nuclear disarmament,"according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). "All these issues are of relevance in the context of thediscussions that will take place at the United Nations incoming months," the MEA said in a statement. The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit brings togetherleaders from 120 developing countries that are its members.The NAM Summits are among the largest gatherings of countries,after the United Nations. India is one of the founding members of the NAM and ithad hosted its 7th summit in 1983 in New Delhi. The last NAMSummit was hosted by Iran in 2012. The membership of NAM comprises 53 countries from Africa,39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 2from Europe (Belarus, Azerbaijan). There are 17 countries and10 international organisations that are Observers at NAM. The NAM came into being 55 years ago when leaders of 25developing countries met at the 1961 Belgrade Conference. The summit comes amid political and economic turmoil inthis oil-rich country which has skidded into crisis as globalcrude prices have plunged since mid-2014, pushing PresidentMaduro’s socialist model to the brink. PTI ASKKISKIS