President John Dramani Mahama has called on members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to preserve their strategic autonomy and resist pressures from emerging geopolitical power blocs as the world becomes increasingly fragmented and multipolar.
Delivering an address at the meeting marking the 65th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade, Serbia, President Mahama said the relevance of NAM remained as strong today as it was during the Cold War, although the challenges confronting developing countries had changed.
According to him, the movement must not become a group of silent spectators of global developments or instruments of competing geopolitical interests.
“We must neither be silent spectators of global developments nor instruments of competing geopolitical interests,” he said.
“Rather, we must be an independent, collective voice for peace, dialogue, disarmament, development and justice, capable of influencing the international system and advancing a more representative and equitable global order.”
President Mahama said that although the Cold War had ended and the fall of the Berlin Wall had opened a new chapter in international relations, the pressures constraining the strategic autonomy of developing countries had not disappeared.
He noted that those pressures were now being expressed through renewed geopolitical competition, economic vulnerabilities, unequal access to finance and technology, climate change and an international system in which the Global South continued to be inadequately represented.
The President said Ghana viewed non-alignment as a policy of “positive, principled and active engagement” rather than passive neutrality.
He recalled the philosophy of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who declared that Ghana would “neither face East nor West” but “face forward.”
President Mahama said the historic declaration remained relevant in the current global environment.
He explained that non-alignment should not be interpreted as neutrality in the face of injustice, conflict or violations of international law.
“The movement remains highly relevant in today’s international system,” he said, adding that NAM must continue to advance the interests of developing countries and promote a fairer international economic order.
The President called for stronger cooperation among NAM member states on issues including development, finance, trade, climate change, debt, technology and reform of the global financial architecture.
With 120 member states, the Non-Aligned Movement remains one of the largest international groupings of developing nations.
President Mahama said its influence should be measured not merely by its numerical strength but by its ability to transform its collective weight into coordinated diplomacy and practical outcomes.
He therefore urged member states to strengthen consultation and coordination, particularly within the United Nations and other multilateral institutions where their interests converged.
As NAM marks 65 years since its historic first summit in Belgrade, President Mahama said the movement must renew its commitment to peace, sovereignty, sustainable development and a more just international order.
“Our direction remains clear,” he declared. “Neither East nor West, but forward together.”
Story by: Emmanuel Romeo Tetteh(#RomeoWrites✍️)/ Presidential Affairs Correspondent | Ghana 🇬🇭
