Non-Aligned Countries Call for Equity in COVID-19 Vaccination

On Monday, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) President Ilham Aliyev criticized developed countries whose nationalism prevents a more equal distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the world.

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"Vaccine disparity is very large," Azerbaijan President Aliyev said during the opening of the commemorative meeting of the 60th Anniversary of the NAM first conference in Belgrade, Serbia.

Besides asking countries to adopt a more supportive attitude in the fight against the pandemic, he also recalled that the NAM is an example of multilateralism that brings together 120 nations with different policies, history, and cultures.

Through a virtual speech, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres highlighted the role of NAM countries in the fight against COVID-19 and defended the need for a global plan to save lives.

"We want to see a high percentage of vaccination among citizens of all countries. It is important that the strategy we have becomes a reality," he said.

At the commemorative ceremony, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic recalled the motivations and values that united those who founded NAM decades ago.

"The main idea... was peace, which is the basis of political or economic cooperation," he said and ratified that his country, which aspires to join the European Union, is committed to respecting international law and promoting the multilateralism.

In Belgrade, ministerial delegations from over one hundred countries are meeting to ratify the commitment that 25 States adopted in 1961 when they founded a "third way" between the two opposing Cold War blocs. Since then, the Non-Aligned Movement has set as its objectives the support for colonial liberation and the reduction of the gap between developed and developing countries.

Currently, the NAM encompasses 120 nations, among which are the Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Peru, and Venezuela. This international movement also includes Russia and 16 countries as observers.