The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Tehran has come at a particularly interesting time in history. In spite of stiff opposition from the United States and Israel to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon for not attending the summit, Mr. Moon’s presence in Tehran has a significant message. So has the presence of the heads of state and other important officials of this 120-nation grouping. On Iran, the summit has conveyed two categorical messages. One, that Iran is far from being isolated from the international community on the issue of its right to develop nuclear energy. Two, the limitations of the US power, and Israel’s increasing credibility crisis in today’s world, are clearer. Importantly, this summit goes to debunk the theories that this Cold War-era grouping has lost its relevance. The fact is that NAM has a new significance in today’s world, symbolised by the deep political and economic disagreements between the west and the rest of the world. That significance has been exemplified by figures like the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, the Egyptian President Muhammed Morsi, and the Iranian leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who have in a rather united voice called for the reform of the global political and financial governance structures, including the UN Security Council, the World Bank and the IMF. There have also been strong and vocal voices at the summit calling for an end to outside military interventions for bringing about regime changes in Asia, Africa and Latin America.  Such vocal stands mean that the patience of the international community with the increasing military interventions to bring down governments not to the liking of the west is running low. At the end of the day this summit makes it clear that no matter the changed global geo-political realities, NAM has a cause. It also is a time for Israel to acknowledge that it must engage with the world with a positive outlook, get real on Palestine and Iran and end its isolation.

Lastupdate on : Fri, 31 Aug 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 1 Sep 2012 00:00:00 IST