Vice president M. Hamid Ansari being greeted by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro before the start of the 17th Summit of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) at Margarita Island in Venezuela on Saturday. Photo: PTIMargarita, Venezuela: A summit of non-aligned movement (NAM) leaders gathered on the island of Margarita in Venezuela on Sunday condemned terrorism as one of the most serious threats to international peace and security after vice president Hamid Ansari told the 120-nation grouping to take specific measures for fighting terror. The Margarita Declaration adopted by the summit leaders, besides condemning terrorism, also considered that the adoption of a future Comprehensive Convention for Combating International Terrorism in order to complement the set of existing international legal instruments against terrorism. Speaking at the 17th NAM summit, Ansari re-iterated the founding values and principles of the non-aligned movement, including respect for sovereignty and peaceful settlement of disputes while also urging the new chairman of the summit, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, to modernize the manner in which NAM functions. The Venezuelan President used the NAM platform to talk about not just the challenges of a new “unipolar” world but also criticize the sanctions imposed on his country by the US for alleged human rights abuses.

Source: Mint September 18, 2016 09:45 UTC