President John Dramani Mahama has called for a major shift in the global economic system to enable countries in the Global South to add value to their natural resources instead of remaining exporters of raw materials.
Addressing the 65th anniversary meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Belgrade, Serbia, President Mahama said political independence would remain incomplete without the economic capacity for developing countries to pursue their own national priorities.
“Development remains central to the enduring principles of the Non-Aligned Movement,” he said.
“Political independence is more meaningful when it is accompanied by the economic capacity to pursue national priorities.”
President Mahama said resource sovereignty must become central to the development agenda of countries within the Global South.
He warned against the continuation of an international economic structure in which developing countries exported raw materials and imported finished products.
“We cannot accept a global order in which countries of the Global South remain exporters of raw materials and importers of finished goods, while our people bear the environmental and social costs of extraction,” he stated.
The President called on members of the Non-Aligned Movement to strengthen South-South cooperation and coordinate their positions on critical economic and developmental issues.
He identified development finance, trade, debt, technology, climate change and the reform of the global financial architecture as areas where NAM countries could work together to advance common interests.
President Mahama said the movement’s 120 member states represented significant collective strength and should use their numbers to influence the international system.
According to him, the legitimacy of the global order depended partly on whether international institutions reflected the diversity of the global community and provided all countries with a meaningful voice in decision-making.
“The current international environment calls for a multilateral system that is stronger and more representative and more responsive to the realities of our time,” he said.
The President also urged NAM members to move beyond declarations and focus on practical action.
He said summit decisions and ministerial meetings should be followed up with coordinated diplomatic action and concrete outcomes.
President Mahama stressed that NAM could become a stronger collective voice for developing nations if its member states deepened consultation and coordination at the United Nations and other multilateral institutions.
He said the Global South faced common challenges but also possessed the collective strength to reshape the international economic system.
“As we look to the future, our direction remains clear,” President Mahama said. “Neither East nor West, but forward together.”
President Mahama was addressing the meeting in the Serbian capital, which brought together leaders and representatives from across Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the movement.
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭