Venezuela takes over presidency of Non-Aligned Movement

Venezuela, which is now hosting the 2016 summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), took over the group's rotating presidency on Wednesday.

An official ceremony to mark the handover of the presidency from outgoing Iran will take place on Saturday, the government said in a statement.

The 17th NAM summit opened Tuesday in Venezuela's Caribbean island of Margarita, with representatives from 120 members participating.

The summit will conclude on Sunday with a final declaration.

Venezuela, which took over the three-year presidency of NAM for the first time, became the third Latin American country to do so, after Cuba and Colombia, since the bloc was founded 55 years ago to counter colonialism and imperialism.

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Delcy Rodriguez said that as the chair of the group, Caracas will promote "the building of a new world order not just in the economic and social realms, but also in the realm of information."

Venezuela and other members of NAM maintain that today's global media giants exercise overwhelming control over news and entertainment, with a clear bias in favor of western powers.

Founded in Belgrade in 1961, NAM is a group of states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. As of now, the group has 120 members, 17 observer states and 10 observer organizations.

Source : XINHUA