BENEFICIAL NEUTRALITY

On April 5-6, the Ministerial Conference of Foreign Ministers of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was held in Baku under the theme of “Promoting international peace and security for sustainable development”. It was a large-scale international event attended by more than 800 representatives of the member and observer states. Some prestigious international organisations including the UN were also represented at the conference. The conference was covered by about 150 media officials from many countries of the world.

Azerbaijan joined the Non-Aligned Movement in 2011. Although NAM is a very amorphous organisation, whose statements and resolutions are largely declarative, and there are many contradictions and even hostile manifestations among the member states, it is nevertheless the largest inter-state dialogue platform after the UN. In fact, membership in NAM increases Azerbaijan’s opportunities to take the issues of concern to international agenda, and helps to mobilise broader international support. By joining the Non-Aligned Movement, Baku sent a clear message that Azerbaijan’s non-aligned status is a long-term policy of security although the Constitution of Azerbaijan does not contain any provisions on permanent neutrality or ban the deployment of foreign military bases. At the same time, Azerbaijan has no intentions to join NATO or CSTO.

Azerbaijan has become an authoritative member of the Non-Aligned Movement within a short period of time, which was also confirmed by the broad support of member states during the election of Azerbaijan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2012-2013. Also, Azerbaijan's candidacy for the chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement in 2019-2022 received universal support. The hosting of the interim NAM ministerial conference in Baku also confirms this fact.

Jorge Arreas, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, the country that currently chairs the Non-Aligned Movement, opened the plenary session of the conference. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev addressed the conference participants. Foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran, North Korea, Afghanistan, India, Palestine, Ecuador, delegations from dozens of other countries, as well as the Chairman of the UN General Assembly Miroslav Lajčák took part in the session. The conference ended with the adoption of the Baku Declaration.

According to this document, the conference participants called on the international community to refrain in its international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. Thus, the Non-Aligned Movement unequivocally supported Baku's position in the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The adopted declaration reads as follows: "We reaffirm our determination to continue opposing any attempt aimed at partial or total disruption of the national unity or territorial integrity of a State as well as our commitment for the respect of the sovereignty, the sovereign equality of States, the non-intervention in the internal affairs of States, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the abstention from the threat or use of force, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations."

The declaration also expresses support for the promotion of peace and security for sustainable development and a desire for further development of cooperation between the member states. In addition, the participating states supported Baku's candidacy for World Expo 2025. A separate declaration on Palestine was also adopted.

Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, also attended the event. Although Turkey, as a NATO member state, does not belong to the Non-Aligned Movement and even have an observer status, Azerbaijan, being a host country, invited Turkey as a special guest. Turkey has done the same when important international conventions were held on its territory. For instance, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was the only invited guest of Ankara at the G20 Summit recently held in Istanbul.

In his address, Mr. Cavusoglu stated that his country was against nuclear weapons but supported the development of nuclear energy. "The Turkish economy is growing. The Akkuyu nuclear power plant will not be enough for this development. We are working with Japanese partners to construct another nuclear power plant in Sinop," said the Turkish minister.

In 2019, Baku will host the 18^th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, and will chair the organisation in 2019-2022. The experience of Azerbaijani representatives in the governing bodies of influential international organisations, holding of large-scale international events in Baku, as well as the high-level organisation of the NAM ministerial conference show that our chairmanship in this organisation will be successful and will increase its influence on global and regional problems, as well as serve to further strengthen the authority of Azerbaijan.

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The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was officially established at the Belgrade Conference held in September 1961. NAM has 120 member states and another 17 states and 10 international organisations with observer status. The movement does not have permanent governing structures. The chairing country is responsible for coordinating the activities of NAM over a three-year period on a rotational basis. Current presidency is fulfilled by Venezuela. The basic principle of the Non-Aligned Movement is the refusal to participate in any military blocs.