Azerbaijan in the Non-Aligned Movement

The Republic of Azerbaijan became a full-fledged member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in May 2011 and declared its strict adherence to the founding principles of the Movement.

It pursues an independent foreign policy and is not a party to any military alliance. At the same time, Azerbaijan is a rapidly developing country that puts special emphasis on sustainable development, democratization, fostering respect for human rights and social justice. Located on the crossroads of the two major international transportation corridors – from North to South and from East to West, Azerbaijan has always promoted development through political independence and economic cooperation, including South-South cooperation.

Against this background, Azerbaijan, since joining to the NAM, has actively contributed to the advancement of the Movement’s Agenda. It is not coincidence, therefore, that the NAM Member States unanimously agreed to elect Azerbaijan as the next chair country of the Movement at the last NAM Summit held in Margarita Island of Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in September 2016.

On 5-6 April 2018 Azerbaijan hosted mid-term Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The Republic of Azerbaijan took over the chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement at the Baku Summit of the Movement that was hold on 25-26 October 2019.

Azerbaijan assumed the chairmanship of the Movement in a critical time for all Member States of NAM, which necessitates concerted and effective responses to the challenges of contemporary world.

Chairmanship of Azerbaijan to the Movement will coincide with the 65th anniversary of Bandung Principles (2020) and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of NAM (2021). Both anniversaries will provide an excellent momentum for the NAM member states to take stock of the achievements made so far and reflect upon how shared vision and combined strength could respond to the multifaceted and emerging challenges that the world continues to face.