Key Details
India’s National Statement at the High-Level Commemorative Meeting marking the 65th anniversary of NAM’s first summit set out the country’s priorities for keeping the movement relevant in a more fragmented international order.
Multilateral reform: India called for reform of the UN Security Council and international financial institutions to reflect contemporary realities.
Global South priorities: The statement identified climate change, debt sustainability, resilient supply chains, technology inequality, trade and tariffs as shared concerns.
Inclusive technology: India presented the M.A.N.A.V. vision for AI, built around moral and ethical systems, accountable governance, national sovereignty, accessibility and legitimacy.
Maritime security: India urged greater international attention to secure maritime commons, seafarer safety, freedom of navigation and uninterrupted commerce.
Counterterrorism: NAM members were asked to adopt zero tolerance for terrorism and support sustained, coordinated global action.
Development cooperation: India said its partnerships span more than 100 countries, while its global initiatives include the International Solar Alliance, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and Global Biofuels Alliance.
Palestine assistance: India reported providing approximately 135 tonnes of humanitarian aid since October 2023 and $15 million to UNRWA, alongside commitments for a hospital, an artificial-limb centre and a vocational institute.
NAM’s Relevance Is Being Recast Around Present-Day Problems
The statement recalls that NAM emerged to give newly independent countries space outside competing geopolitical blocs. India’s argument is that the movement cannot rely only on that history: its relevance now depends on whether it can produce collective positions and practical cooperation on contemporary challenges.
This reframing shifts NAM from being understood principally as a doctrine of non-alignment towards a platform through which developing countries can seek greater influence over technology governance, climate action, development finance and the rules of multilateral institutions.
Institutional Reform Remains India’s Principal Political Ask
India placed reformed multilateralism at the centre of NAM’s future agenda. The statement specifically names the UN Security Council and international financial institutions, linking their reform to the need for global governance to represent current economic and political realities.
NAM gives this demand a wider diplomatic base. Its value for India lies not only in reiterating the case for reform but in building a sufficiently broad coalition of developing countries around specific changes to representation, voting power and institutional priorities.
India Links Diplomatic Leadership to Practical Platforms
The statement supports India’s Global South positioning with a portfolio of international initiatives covering solar energy, resilient infrastructure, biofuels, biodiversity and digital public infrastructure.
This is more substantive than presenting NAM solely as a forum for declarations. Such platforms allow participating countries to access cooperation, technical knowledge and institutional networks while giving India a practical route for converting diplomatic relationships into development partnerships.
The same framing applies to AI. The M.A.N.A.V. principles position India’s approach around human-centred and inclusive technology, with particular emphasis on national sovereignty and access for developing countries. The statement does not announce a new NAM mechanism for AI, but signals that India wants the movement to have a voice in emerging technology governance.
Security Now Extends from Terrorism to Maritime Commerce
India’s proposed NAM agenda combines the longstanding issue of terrorism with the security of maritime trade. The statement calls for a common position against terrorism irrespective of motivation or perpetrator, while also identifying navigation, seafarer safety and commercial access to maritime routes as shared responsibilities.
For many NAM members, disruptions to shipping routes translate directly into higher food, fuel, fertiliser and insurance costs. Bringing maritime security into NAM discussions therefore connects a strategic concern with the development and inflation consequences of interrupted trade.
What Is the Non-Aligned Movement?
The Non-Aligned Movement is a grouping established during the Cold War by countries that sought to avoid formal alignment with competing power blocs and preserve independent foreign-policy choices. India was one of its five founding countries. Its present membership is concentrated in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, giving it a potentially significant collective voice on Global South concerns.
Policy Relevance
For India, a revitalised NAM can perform three related diplomatic functions:
Coalition-building: It can broaden support for India’s campaign to reform the UN Security Council and international financial institutions.
Development partnerships: Indian-led platforms in renewable energy, resilient infrastructure and digital public infrastructure can give NAM cooperation a more practical foundation.
Rule-shaping: Coordinated positions on AI governance, debt, trade disruptions and maritime security can improve the Global South’s influence over standards largely shaped elsewhere.
The challenge is one of prioritisation. NAM encompasses countries with widely differing security relationships, economic interests and positions on global conflicts. India’s ability to revitalise the movement will therefore depend on identifying a limited set of interests around which its members can sustain meaningful agreement and action.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: Which specific reforms or cooperative initiatives could India mobilise NAM members around so that the movement’s collective voice produces outcomes beyond summit declarations?
Follow the Full National Statement Here: National Statement at the High-Level Commemorative Meeting marking the 65th anniversary of NAM’s first summit