The online summit is chaired by President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, who holds the rotating presidency of NAM for the 2019-2022 period.

The video conference is attended by representatives from 40 countries, including 19 presidents, one vice president, 6 prime ministers, one deputy prime minister, 8 foreign ministers, and an interior minister.

The theme of the ongoing summit is “United Against COVID-19” and aims to promote international cooperation in the fight against the pandemic.

President of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat are among the participants in the online NAM summit.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would also take part in the event with a pre-recorded message.

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Rouhani made the remarks on Thursday afternoon in a meeting with his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev in Baku, where the Iranian president is to take part in the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).

Describing the Caspian Sea as “the sea of development, peace and friendship,” Rouhani said, “Iran is always ready to develop maritime cooperation with Azerbaijan in the Caspian region with regard to exploration [of undersea resources] and [protection of] environment.”

He added that the Iranian government and nation have always stood by the Azeri nation and government at international forums, noting that the two countries together could help promote regional and global peace and security.

The Iranian president further highlighted the importance of enhanced ties between Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia and said, “Tehran, Baku and Moscow should further expand their trilateral and joint cooperation.”

Rouhani said the development of ties and joint cooperation between Tehran and Baku would serve both countries as well as the region.

Aliyev, for his part, hailed a 70 percent growth in the volume of trade transactions between Tehran and Baku and said the two nations’ cooperation in the areas of energy, banking, industry, and transportation within the framework of their joint economic commission is  well progressing.

The Azeri president added that good progress has been made in construction activities for the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), which links the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf via Iran to Russia and North Europe.

Aliyev further voiced his country’s willingness to enhance cooperation with the Islamic Republic in all areas, calling for Iran’s contribution to Azerbaijan’s power plant construction, transportation, and oil exploration projects.

Rouhani will attend and deliver a speech at the 18th NAM summit on Friday.

The NAM ministerial meeting was held on Wednesday and Thursday, before the 18th summit of NAM heads of states that will be held on October 25 and 26.

Azerbaijan will take over the chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement for the upcoming three years.

NAM, an international organization with 120 member states and 21 observer countries, represents nearly two-thirds of the UN members. It is considered not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warns that the sanctions imposed by the United States against member states of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) have put hundreds of millions of people at risk and hampered global trade.

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In an address to the Meeting of the NAM Ministerial Committee on Palestine, held in Baku on Wednesday, Zarif described the Palestinian issue as the pivotal issue in the Middle East. Iran News quotes the reports of NAM members meeting.

“It is of great importance that the NAM countries maintain and strengthen their united front and do not allow the Zionist regime and its enablers to succeed in their aim of relegating the Palestinian question to the margin,” he added.

Following is the full text of his speech:

“In the Name of God,

Mr. Chairman,

Distinguished Friends

The holding of the meetings of the NAM Committee on Palestine has acquired particular importance given this moment of great uncertainty and volatility for the Palestinian people.

The extremist and unilateral policy pursued by the US coupled with its contempt for international law has had a devastating impact on the Palestinian people. The Trump administration is aiding and abetting the aggressive Israeli regime in its expansionist behavior which seeks to undermine the status of the Palestinian issue as the pivotal issue in the Middle East. The most important reason for the US administration and the Israeli regime to ignite hostilities within and among the countries of our region and to push the non-issues such as Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, is to eclipse the plight of the Palestinian people and force a regional realignment to its detriment. What is indeed extremely regrettable is that some States in our region are buying this trick, thus furthering the agenda of the US and the Zionist regime. It is of great importance that the NAM countries maintain and strengthen their united front and do not allow the Zionist regime and its enablers to succeed in their aim of relegating the Palestinian question to the margin.

The US vicious moves about al-Quds al-Sharif and the creation of a viable Palestinian State despite the clear UN resolutions are frustrating and detrimental to the efforts towards finding a just and lasting solution for the crisis. While none of the US administrations in the past ever intended to help Palestinians create a viable States, this administration has taken off the mask and pursues the same policy in an aggressive and shamelessly transparent way, providing more encouragement to the expansionist Zionist regime.

Netanyahu’s recent declaration to annex the Jordan Valley in the Occupied West Bank should be also viewed in this light. This provocative threat followed previous similar cynical declarations about the annexation of other Israeli illegal settlements. It came in the wake of the Israeli attempts to illegally and forcibly alter the demography, character, identity and legal status of the Palestinian territory occupied in the past seven decades.

This disastrous trend will continue unless we change course. We all need to brace ourselves and tap all our resources and potentials to stand firm -not just in our declarations, but in our policies and actions- against aggression by the Israeli regime and their American enablers. The resolute rejection of the delusional “deal of the century” by the Palestinian people and leadership has already shown its impact, imposing a setback on those who have tried in vain to denigrate the rights of an entire people to a real estate deal.

Washington and Tel Aviv should be made to understand that peace and economic prosperity could never be achieved without addressing the occupation, which lies at the core of the Palestinian question. They are being increasingly isolated at least in their delusion that the Palestinian right to self-determination, Palestinian sovereignty and statehood could be exchanged with their empty financial promises. Undoubtedly, any initiative detached from international law and dismissive of Palestinian human and political rights can neither be viable, nor just, and will certainly fail abjectly.

Mr. Chairman,

At this difficult moment for Palestine, it is imperative that we, as NAM Members, act on what we have said since the birth of our Movement. The illusion that Israel and the United States can be reliable partners must be abandoned.

We in Iran are ready to set aside all our differences and grievances with any and all Muslim and Non-Aligned countries and work hand in hand to create a strong unified stance to reverse the exacerbating audacity of the Zionists. It can be done.”

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met and held talks with Afghanistan National Security Adviser Hamdollah Moheb on Wednesday. The meeting was about regional security issues.

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and his Iraqi counterpart Mohamed Ali Alhakim meet on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the Republic of Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

In the Baku meeting, the two senior diplomats discussed the latest developments in Tehran-Baghdad relations, regional issues, particularly the situation in northern Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, the most recent developments in the Persian Gulf, Iran’s initiative for regional peace, known as the Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE), as well as the other issues of mutual interest.

The ministerial meeting is being held on Wednesday and Thursday, ahead of the 18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will attend the 18th NAM Summit, slated to begin on Friday in the Azeri capital.

The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 developing world states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.

Although many of the Non-Aligned Movement’s members were actually quite closely aligned with one or another of the superpowers, the movement still maintained cohesion throughout the Cold War, even despite several conflicts between members which also threatened the movement.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani will take part at the 18th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) scheduled this week in Baku, Azerbaijan, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman.

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