Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju will head the Indian delegation to a High-Level Commemorative Meeting in Belgrade, Serbia, scheduled for 31 August – 1 September, marking the 65th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed on Saturday, 29 August. The meeting commemorates the First Conference of Heads of State or Government of NAM, held in Belgrade in 1961.

Theme and Significance

The High-Level Commemorative Meeting carries the theme 'The Legacy of Non-Alignment: Lessons for Today's World'. The MEA underlined India's founding role in the movement, stating: 'India is a founding member of the movement which brings together 121 developing countries on a platform of historical significance. India remains committed to the principles and values of the movement.'

NAM traces its roots to the 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia, where Asian and African nations rallied around sovereignty, peaceful coexistence, non-interference, and opposition to colonialism. The movement was formally constituted six years later at its inaugural summit in Belgrade — the same city now hosting this milestone commemoration.

India's Recent Engagement with NAM

India's participation in Belgrade follows its active presence at the 19th NAM Mid-Term Ministerial Meeting held in Kampala, Uganda, in October 2025. At that forum, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh placed cross-border terrorism at the centre of India's diplomatic messaging within the NAM framework.

Singh had stated: 'Terrorism is a shared threat that can be addressed only through deeper international cooperation. For decades, India has been a victim of barbaric cross-border terrorist attacks, most recently on 22 April 2025, when innocent tourists were slaughtered in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.'

India's Stand on Terrorism and Pakistan

Singh's remarks at Kampala included a pointed reference to a member state's conduct at the UN Security Council following the Pahalgam attack. Without naming Pakistan directly, he said: 'It is a matter of deep regret that when the UN Security Council deliberated on the Pahalgam terrorist attack, a member state chose to defend the perpetrator — The Resistance Front — to the extent of seeking a deletion of any public reference to them.'

He further warned: 'It is imperative that the Non-Aligned Movement display zero tolerance for terrorism. Any sponsorship, support, justification or cover-up of terrorism will come back to bite those who do so.' Singh also noted that virtually every NAM member recognises the threat posed by terrorism and is committed to combating it.

What the Belgrade Meeting Represents

For India, the Belgrade meeting is both a reaffirmation of its foundational role in NAM and an opportunity to advance its multilateral agenda at a time of heightened global tensions. NAM today continues to champion the interests of developing countries within the United Nations system, and India's ministerial-level representation signals the continued strategic weight it accords to the platform.

With Rijiju leading the delegation, New Delhi is expected to reiterate its commitment to multilateralism while keeping the anti-terrorism narrative prominent — a posture consistent with India's diplomatic stance since the Pahalgam attack.