Foreign Secretary Pema Choden will lead a Bhutanese delegation to the two-day 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which is being held in Kampala, Uganda which begins today. 

The secretary will be accompanied by senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade. 

The theme of the 19th Summit is Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence. 

With the Chairmanship of NAM rotating every three to four years, Uganda will take over the Chairmanship from Azerbaijan and also take over the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China and will convene the Third South Summit under the theme ‘Leaving no one Behind’ in Kampala from January 21 to 22. 

The South Summit is the supreme decision-making body of the Group of 77, which is a coalition of 134 developing countries that promotes its member’s collective economic interests at the United Nations. The Group of 77 was founded in 1964.

NAM is an international movement, founded in 1961, representing the interests and priorities of 120 developing countries. 

Membership in groups such as NAM and the Group of 77 and China has been important for smaller developing nations such as Bhutan in its multilateral engagements.

Bhutan became a member of NAM in 1973 and of the Group of 77 and China in 1971.