Tehran has opened the Non-Aligned Movement summit today. 24 presidents, three kings and about 80 heads of premiers and ministers are attending it, ITAR-TASS reports.
The key topics are the Iranian nuclear program and the Syrian conflict, human rights, Palestinian and Afghan problems, economic and social development of Africa and Latin America.
Experts and foreign ministers held discussions prior to the summit. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that his counterparts had reached common grounds on resolution of the Syrian crisis.
Tehran proposed formation of a contact group for Syria with Venezuela and Egypt involved.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that the only way to settle the conflict is peacefully.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrived for the summit despite Washington and its allies urging him to skip it. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has made the first visit of an Egyptian president to Iran since 1979.
The Non-Aligned Movement was formed at the Belgrade Conference in September 1961. About 120 states joined the movement, 17 states are observers. Two thirds of UN members are part of the movement with 55% of the world’s population. The main principle is avoidance of military blocs, such as NATO.
The previous summit was held in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2009, initiated by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Egypt chaired the organization for 3 years. Iran will be the next chairman.
