Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic has said at a ministerial conference of the Non-Alligned Movement (NAM) in Bali he is pleased that Belgrade will host the next NAM meeting, September 5-6.

It is not nostalgia that draws Serbia to revitalize its relations with NAM countries, but a deep belief that international stability and prosperity cannot be established without regard for the views of the majority within the global family of nations, Jeremic said in his address.

Belgrade was a pillar of the NAM for almost 30 years, helping the organization develop and progress, Jeremic pointed out. Serbia will continue to help its friends in the NAM as part of its choice to run a balanced and active foreign affairs policy, he noted, adding that Serbia had made that decision as a sovereign country, resolved to hold on to certain principles in international affairs.

In that sense, Serbia has already increased its presence in UN peacekeeping operations in some NAM countries and started a scholarship fund for students from NAM states, which will allow hundreds of young people to study at the Belgrade University, the minister stated.

After hosting the first NAM summit five decades ago, Serbia is honoured to have the opportunity to invite the NAM members to return to the place where it all started in order to celebrate the event and honour the wisdom, vision and political skill of the NAM founders, he concluded.