Non-Aligned Movement to hold Summit of Contact Group on initiative of Azerbaijani President

On the initiative of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ilham Aliyev, a Summit of the NAM's Contact Group will be held through videoconference on May 4. The Summit entitled "We stand together against COVID-19" will focus on the fight against coronavirus pandemic, Assistant to the President, Head of the Department for Foreign Policy Affairs of Azerbaijan's Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev has told AZERTAC.

He said it was important to enhance international solidarity and mobilize the efforts of states and international organizations to address the pandemic. Hikmat Hajiyev noted that the Azerbaijani President's initiative was unanimously supported by the member states of the Non-Aligned Movement.

The leadership of the United Nations, the African Union, the World Health Organization, and other international organizations will also join the video Summit.

"We hope that the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group's Summit will make a significant contribution to the mobilization of NAM member states in the fight against coronavirus, strengthening of solidarity and multilateralism," Hikmat Hajiyev emphasized.

The 18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement member countries was held under the chairmanship of President Ilham Aliyev in Azerbaijan on October 25-26, 2019. Azerbaijan took over the NAM Chairmanship for 2019-2022.

The promotion of multilateral diplomacy, strengthening cooperation and solidarity between the NAM member states was identified as one of the key priorities of Azerbaijan's chairmanship of the organization.

On April 10, 2020, on the initiative of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, chairman of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States Ilham Aliyev, an extraordinary Summit of the Turkic Council was held through videoconference to discuss the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The government of Azerbaijan donated $5 million in voluntary financial aid to the COVID-19 response fund as part of the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan of the World Health Organization to contribute to global efforts to contain the outbreak.