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5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement

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5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
Venue of the Summit
Host country Sri Lanka
Date16–19 August 1976
CitiesColombo
ChairSirimavo Bandaranaike
(Prime Minister of Sri Lanka)
Follows4th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (Algiers,  Algeria)
Precedes6th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (Havana,  Cuba)

5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement on 16–19 August 1976 in Colombo, Sri Lanka was the conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement.[1] 86 nations participated in the summit with additional 30 observers and guests representing all the continents in the world.[2] The Summit is the biggest international conference ever held in Sri Lanka and one of the greatest achievements in its foreign policy.[3] The event took place at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, the first purpose-built conference hall in Asia.[4] It was the first heads of state or government summit of the movement to be organized in Asia.[4] The decisions on the NAM Coordination Bureau organisation and membership conditions were formally defined at the Colombo Summit.[5] The body was to have 25 members (12 from Africa, 8 from Asia, 4 from Latin America and 1 from Europe) and was expected to meet regularly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.[5]

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike prioritized economic issues in discussions motivated both by Sri Lanka's own economic interests and a creation of a more properly non-aligned venue free of extreme anti-western rhetoric.[6] India, Sri Lanka, SFR Yugoslavia and Indonesia worked together at the conference to temper more radical proposals by some of the newer member states of the Movement.[2] The conference nevertheless defined Zionism as a form of racism, a definition which was restated at future NAM events.[5]

The logo of the conference included references to five values of self-determination, economic development, peace and security, solidarity and the denial of colonialism and imperialism.[7] The Government of Sri Lanka declared the public holiday to enable residents in the capital city to get to the street and see and greet foreign guests.[7]

Sri Lanka selected senior career diplomats to handle the organization of the event with Dr. Vernon Mendis, High Commissioner in London as the Secretary-General of the Summit, and Leelananda de Silva as the Secretary to the Economic Committee of the Summit.[4] It was the first conference in which Vietnam took place after the reunification of the country.[8] The summit was publicly marked in various ways with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka releasing commemorative Rs. 5 coins and two post stamps of Rs 1.15 and Rs. 2 both carrying the portrait of Prime Minister Bandaranaike while the Ceylon Tobacco Company produced a special brand of cigarettes called ‘Summit’.[4] While the Delegation of Yugoslavia arrived to the city by plane, the country also sent the Yugoslav training ship Galeb to the Port of Colombo ahead of the event.[5] The ship served as a venue for bilateral and informal meetings with other participants with first lady Jovanka Broz serving as a host.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 5th Summit Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (PDF) (Report). [James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. 1976.
  2. ^ a b Prithvis Chakravarti (11 April 2015). "Non-aligned Summit: Togetherness in Colombo". India Today. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  3. ^ n.a. (10 November 2016). "Sri Lanka and the Non-Aligned Movement". News from Non-Aligned World. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d D.C. Ranatunga (13 August 2016). "When over 90 leaders 'invaded' Colombo". Daily FT. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d e Tvrtko Jakovina (2011). Treća strana Hladnog rata. Fraktura. ISBN 978-953-266-203-0.
  6. ^ Leelananda De Silva (22 August 2021). "The Colombo Aligned Summit". The Island (Sri Lanka). Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b Jürgen Dinkel (2014). "'To grab the headlines in the world press': Non-aligned summits as media events". In Nataša Mišković; Herald Fischer-Tine; Nada Boškovska (eds.). The Non-Aligned Movement and the Cold War: Delhi — Bandung — Belgrade. Routledge. pp. 207–225. ISBN 978-0-415-74263-4.
  8. ^ Van Dong, Pham (1976). "The non-aligned nations and the struggle against imperialism". Journal of Contemporary Asia. 6 (4). Routledge: 526–531. doi:10.1080/00472337685390691.
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