President John Mahama has lauded the pioneering role of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, towards the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to steer an independent path during the Cold War era.
Speaking at the 65th Anniversary Conference of NAM in Belgrade, Serbia, President Mahama also paid tribute to other pioneering leaders of the NAM, such as President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and President Sukarno of Indonesia.
He underscored that Belgrade holds a distinguished place in the history of international relations.
“Sixty-five years ago, leaders of newly independent and developing nations gathered here at a defining moment in world affairs, united by a shared determination to safeguard their sovereignty and independence, oppose colonialism and foreign domination, promote peaceful coexistence, and contribute to the emergence of a more just, equitable, and peaceful world order,” he stated.
He reiterated that the history of Ghana’s anti-colonial struggle and the history of the Non-Aligned Movement were inextricably linked, a connection Ghana takes immense pride in.
President Mahama said Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, was among the foremost leaders of the generation that gave political expression to the Non-Aligned Movement in the historic Belgrade Conference in 1961.
He said that alongside President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, and President Sukarno of Indonesia, they came together at a time when the world was sharply divided by the Cold War rivalry and newly independent nations faced the danger of exchanging colonial subordination for dependence on competing power blocs.
He said that Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s vision was clear and that Ghana’s independence had to be matched by an independent foreign policy and an unwavering commitment to the sovereignty and self-determination of nations.
President Mahama said Dr Kwame Nkrumah believed that the newly independent states must have the freedom to determine their own course, maintain constructive relations with all countries, and exercise independent judgment on matters of international concern.
He said in articulating this vision, Dr Kwame Nkrumah declared, “we neither face east or west, we face forward”.
Adding that that profound and powerful declaration defined and articulated with clarity Ghana’s position at a defining moment in world history.
President Mahama said Ghana chose not to be drawn into the geopolitical rivalry between the power blocs.
He said Ghana chose instead to look forward to peace, to sovereignty, and to the freedom of nations to determine their own destinies.
“We want to be friends of all and enemies to none. The vision of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah drew strength from the Historic Asian-African Conference held at Bandung, Indonesia in 1955, which laid an important political and structural foundation for the emergence of the Non-Aligned Movement.”
President Mahama said although the Gold Coast had not yet attained independence, Dr Kwame Nkrumah ensured that our voice was present at this conference.
He said the Gold Coast delegation, led by Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s close associate, Mr Kojo Botsio, joined the representatives of Asia and Africa in advancing the causes of decolonisation, sovereign equality, peaceful coexistence, and African-Asian solidarity.
The President said Ghana, therefore, in 1961 came to Belgrade with a tradition of engagement already shaped by the Bandung Conference, a tradition that connected our struggle for independence with the wider determination of newly emerging nations to secure an independent voice in world affairs.
“Sixty-five years after the historic Belgrade Conference that gave birth to the Non-Aligned Movement, Ghana is honoured to be present once again here in this historic city of Belgrade, which occupies a profound significance in our shared journey,” he said.
“Our presence here today provides an opportunity for us to reflect on the principles that inspired the founding of the Non-Aligned Movement, and in particular the vision, the leadership, and enduring contribution of our leaders of the time whose statesmanship helped define our affirmed conviction that newly independent nations must be free to determine their own destinies and to contribute on equal terms to the shaping of a more peaceful, just, and balanced international order.”
President Mahama said the world had changed profoundly since that first conference in 1961.
He emphasised that the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Berlin Wall opened a new page in international relations, but the pressures that could constrain the strategic autonomy of developing countries to make their own determination have not disappeared.
He noted that they now manifest themselves through renewed geopolitical competition, economic vulnerabilities, and unequal access to finance and technology, climate change, and an international architecture in which the voice of the global South was still not adequately reflected in world affairs.
President Mahama said in the tradition of Kwame Nkrumah, they understand non-alignment as a policy of positive, principled, and active engagement.
“As he aptly stated, our politics of positive neutrality is not passive or neutral politics. This is affirmative politics based on our firm belief in positive action,” he said.
President Mahama said it was this spirit of positive action that must continue to guide our non-aligned movement.
He said in an increasingly fragmented and multipolar world, the non-aligned movement must preserve its strategic autonomy and resist the pressures of the politics of power blocs.
“We must neither be silent spectators of global developments nor instruments of competing geopolitical interests,” he said
“Rather, we must be an independent, collective voice for peace, dialogue, disarmament, development, and justice, capable of influencing the international system and advancing a more representative and equitable global order.”
He said however, Ghana reaffirms that non-alignment must never be understood as neutrality in the face of injustice, conflict, or the erosion of international law. He said the Movement remains highly relevant in today’s international system, and although it emerged during the Cold War as a political movement, its role had evolved to address contemporary economic, political, and developmental challenges.
Adding that NAM continues to have an important role in advancing the interests of the Global South and promoting a fairer and more equitable international economic order.
President Mahama said with its broad membership, NAM provides developing countries with a strong collective voice in the multilateral system.
He noted that it could further strengthen South-South cooperation and advance common positions on development, finance, trade, climate change, debt, technology, and the reform of global financial architecture.
“Looking ahead, we must build on this historical legacy while adapting to this changing world,” President Mahama stated.
