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Urging the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to build on areas of commonality and effectively exploit the synergies amongst its vast membership, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Tuesday said there was a need to evolve a contemporary and compelling vision for “our movement”. Intervening during an interactive debate on ‘Lasting Peace through Joint Global Governance’ at a preparatory ministerial meeting here, Krishna recalled the shared civilizational linkages and interaction between India and Iran, and said that in an increasingly interdependent world, the destinies of nations are more inextricably linked than at any other time in history. While acknowledging issues such as the management of the global economy and finance, securing stable food and energy supplies, poverty alleviation, eradicating hunger and deprivation, tackling pandemics etc., as some of the “central challenges” of the 21st century, Krishna said: “Developing countries have been disproportionately impacted by the uncertainties in the current global economic environment. The global economic recovery continues to falter. The situation in the Euro zone has made matters even more difficult.” “At this juncture, enhanced international policy coordination is necessary to maintain macroeconomic stability conducive to the healthy recovery of the global economy,” he added. “With 80 percent of the world’s population and about 90 percent of the world’s youth living in developing countries, the challenges of growth and development facing us are immense, “ the minister said, adding “We need to impart our youth with the necessary technical skills. We need to create job opportunities to foster rapid economic growth.” Krishna also said that the attainment of the Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs) “is fundamental to our quest for inclusive, equitable and sustained global growth.” “Given the halting progress that we have achieved so far, it would be important to maintain our focus on MDGs beyond 2015, entailing enhanced financial and technological support for developing countries, “ he added. Highlighting the development challenges facing the African continent, Krishna said NAM member states must continue to work towards ensuring Africa ’s primacy in the development agenda. He said India has scaled up development assistance bilaterally as well as within the framework of India-Africa Summits and South-South cooperation. “We must work towards preserving the centrality of the development agenda in the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations,” Krishna said. He also said that the imperatives of ensuring Sustainable Development and addressing Climate Change are greater than ever before.

NAM told to build on areas of commonality and exploit synergies