Baku, March 2, AZERTAC

The Summit-level Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group in response to COVID-19, held in Baku on March 2, continued its work with plenary sessions.

During the session chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov, speeches were made by Vice-President of the Republic of Cuba Salvador Antonio Valdés Mesa, Vice President of Gabon Mrs. Rose Christiane Ossouka Raponda, Vice President of Tanzania Philip Isdor Mpango, Deputy Prime Minister of Ethiopia Demeke Mekonnen Hassen. The speakers emphasized the importance of the event and talked about the joint efforts to address the problems facing the organization.

Prime Minister of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria Aïmen Benabderrahmane drew attention to the importance of the Non-Aligned Movement and said that his country was ready to cooperate with all states and take steps for new activities.

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia Ivica Dačić said that his country supported Azerbaijan's initiatives. He noted that the steps taken by Azerbaijan in relation to the developing island states in Africa were commendable.

Then, Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Igor Petrishenko expressed his gratitude to Azerbaijan and President Ilham Aliyev personally for the successful chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement. He said that thanks to the successful chairmanship of Azerbaijan, the Non-Aligned Movement had become a great force to reckon with.

Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic Bakyt Torobayev called on all countries for peace and tranquility. He emphasized that peace and stability in the world should be ensured and international security should be established.

Speaking next were Prime Minister of Mali Abdoulaye Maiga, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda Odongo Jeje Abubakhar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Botswana Lemogang Kwape, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Gambia Mamadou Tangara, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Qatar Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, Foreign Minister of Palestine Riad al-Maliki, Foreign Minister of Yemen Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak, Parliament Speaker of Azerbaijan Sahiba Gafarova, Minister of Health of Bahrain Jaleela bint Al-Sayed Jawad Hassan, Minister of Public Health of Chad Abdelmajid Abdelrahim Mahamat, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs of Pakistan Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Senior Advisor to the Royal Government of Cambodia Sok Siphana, Minister of Health of Tunisia Ali Mrabet, Foreign Policy Adviser to the President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Dionisio da Costa Babo Soares.

The speakers stated that the economic recession, which is one of the main global crises today, necessitated collective response. For this reason, the strengthening of cooperation within the Non-Aligned Movement and the establishment of mutually beneficial relations are of great importance. At the same time, the pandemic resulted in a huge loss of life. During the pandemic, the World Health Organization and the Non-Aligned Organization have laid the foundation for long-term cooperation.

At the same time, it was brought to attention that during its chairmanship of the Movement, Azerbaijan had allocated 1 million dollars in support for African countries. Gratitude was expressed to Azerbaijan for its efforts, loyalty and international solidarity in the fight against COVID-19. It was noted that Azerbaijan was committed to contributing to the multilateral cooperation of countries to mitigate the implications of international economic crises. This Summit is a symbol of the solidarity of the Non-Aligned Movement, so it is important to fight inequality together.

It was also stated that the Non-Aligned Movement could play a very important role in the post-pandemic period. During the chairmanship of Azerbaijan under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, many initiatives were put forward in the interests of the future of the Movement.

Azerbaijan will hand over chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement to Uganda at the end of this year.