A Special Committee to deliberate on how to bring the focus of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) on economic and social issues relevant to the developing countries as well as South-South Cooperation has been set up. The Committee shall be headed by Dr. Arjun K. Sengupta, Chairman, National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganized Sector and Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. The members of the Special Committee are: Shri C. R. Gharekhan, Former Permanent Representative to UN and Special Envoy on Middle East Peace Process; Dr. Devaki Jain, Former Member, South Commission; Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Director, International Council for Research in International Economic Relations (ICRIER); Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS); Shri S. N. Menon, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry; Prof. Abhijit Sen, Member, Planning Commission and Shri Parthasarthi Shome, Adviser to Finance Minister. The Committee is likely to submit its report to the Government before end August 2006.
As one of the founder members, India continues to be actively involved in NAM, which provides a valuable forum for developing countries to articulate their views on a wide range of issues in a collective manner, and to find ways and means to further strengthen their cooperation.
The NAM is the largest grouping of developing countries outside the United Nations. With rapid changes in the international environment, there has been a growing realization among the member countries of the NAM to revitalize the Movement, making it a more effective voice of the developing countries. In this context, it is important to strengthen economic cooperation within NAM and also to pursue interests of its member countries by agreeing on common positions in the global arena.
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NSD/MK
(Release ID :18929)