Remarks by Ghana at Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Heads of State Summit in Uganda 2024

AT THE 61ST SUMMIT OF THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT IN KAMPALA, UGANDA, ON SATURDAY, 20 TH JANUARY 2024, ON THE THEME “DEEPENING CO-OPERATION FOR SHARED GLOBAL AFFLUENCE”

I am honoured by the opportunity to make these brief remarks at the 61st anniversary of the holding of the 1961 Belgrade Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), my last time as President of the Republic of Ghana. My delegation is grateful to the redoubtable, veteran President of the Republic of Uganda, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, and his government, for their warm reception and hospitality.

Since the days of Ghana’s first President, Kwame Nkrumah, one of the five (5) historic founding fathers of NAM, together with Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Ahmed Sukarno of Indonesia, Gamel Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and Josip Broz Tito of the then Yugoslavia, who launched the Movement in the famous city of Belgrade, sixty-one (61) years ago, Ghana has remained a faithful adherent of its principles, i.e. respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of States, non-interference in the domestic affairs of States, nonaggression against States and peaceful resolution of disputes between States. We believe that the strength of this Movement is determined not just by its numbers, but, more significantly, by the attachment to the principles
that founded it.

Excellencies, the world is in turmoil, and we are confronted with perilous situations. Terrorism and violent extremism, climate change, food insecurity, political instability, post-election violence, health pandemics, energy crises, rising commodity prices, geopolitical tensions, unconstitutional changes of governments in parts of Africa, conflicts in the Middle East, and the Russian/Ukraine war, amongst others, have weakened the foundational pillars of multilateralism and bilateral co-operation.

Without doubt, we, Members of the Non-Aligned Movement, have a most important role to play in confronting these challenges. We need to act in a manner that responds to the aspirations of the peoples of the world for their resolution. The responsibility is ours not only to aim at reducing poverty, but, actually, to create prosperity for all our citizens. If the world wants to marshal all its undoubted energies to support this fight, there cannot be a better start than an acknowledgement and a consensus among the nations of the world that, indeed, poverty anywhere degrades us all, whether in the developed or developing world.

As it becomes clearer to all of us, the problems that face the world are more likely to be quickly resolved when we are all prosperous, than when half the world is immersed in poverty. Indeed, the problems of the world can only be properly addressed when we are able to deal with poverty. A hungry, homeless, jobless person has not got much at stake in the battle we want to fight for the survival of the planet. I happen to believe that no one needs to be poor for others to be rich. Excellencies, we, in Ghana, are holding firm to our belief in democracy as the best route to building the prosperous nation that is our aim. It is true that the economic dividends that many of our citizens justifiably expected from the democratic process have not come as fast as had been anticipated, but we are determined to hold fast to the course because we believe that, ultimately, it will succeed. This year, for the ninth (9th) successive time, we will be going to the polls to elect a new President and my successor. We are a beacon of democracy in Africa, and I assure you that, through the conduct of credible, free, fair, and transparent elections, we will maintain this status. I want to stress, in conclusion, that Ghana still believes that this Organisation provides an excellent vehicle for the world to manage its hydra-headed problems. Let us set an example for the rest of the world by working together, trading even more amongst ourselves, and deepening co-operation even further between us, for our destinies are intricately linked with each other. It is within our capacity to turn things around.

I thank you for your attention.