<Back to Index>

1. Opening (1st Item on the Agenda)

1.1 The Preparatory Meeting at the Ministerial Level of the Twelfth Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries was held in Durban, South Africa, from 31 August to 1 September 1998. Minister Guillermo Fernandez De Soto, the Foreign Minister of Colombia, opened the meeting in his Capacity as representative of Colombia, the current Chair of the Movement. In his brief opening statement Minister De Soto welcomed the South African Deputy President, Mr. Thabo Mbeki and invited him to address the meeting. Other South African representatives on the podium were the South African Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Alfred Nzo, Mr. Aziz Pahad, Deputy Foreign Minister of South Africa and Secretary-General of the Summit, Mr. Abdul S Minty, Deputy Secretary-General of the Summit, Mr. Jackie S Selebi, Chairperson of the Ambassadorial/Senior Officials Meeting and Ms Thuthu Mazibuko, Deputy-Secretary of the Summit.

1.2 In his address, Mr. Mbeki used the phrase "we, the poor, must become our own liberators". He further said: "We have to lead the global offensive according to which all humanity should take advantage of the fact of the emergence of the possibility to end poverty in the world in the fact to devise ways and means by which this can be achieved. He further noted that what we speak of is not the expansion of a system of charity and aid, important though these are, but resource transfers which would ensure that those who are on the margins of the world economy themselves arrive at the point where they can achieve their own sustainable development."

1.3 Thereafter, Minister De Soto proposed the election of Minister Nzo as Chair by acclamation and handed him the gavel, upon which Deputy President Mbeki and Minister De Soto left the podium.

1.4 Minister Nzo, in his opening statement, expressed his appreciation to Minister De Soto for the work Colombia has done as Chair of the Non-Aligned Movement over the past three years as well as for the assistance that Colombia has rendered to South Africa in preparation for the Twelfth Summit. He then proceeded to propose to the meeting to adopt the Agenda as follows:

2. Adoption of the Agenda (2nd Item on the Agenda)

The Ministerial Meeting adopted the following Agenda

2.1 Opening

2.2 Adoption of the Agenda

2.3 Report of the Chair of the Preparatory Meeting at Ambassadorial/Senior Official Level

2.4 Consideration of recommendations regarding the preparation for the XIIth Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries

2.4.1 Provisional Agenda
2.4.2 Election of Officers
2.4.3 Organisation of work
2.4.4 Applications for admission of new members and for participation as observers and guests
2.4.5 Draft final document

2.5 Round table discussion on the Report of the Ad Hoc Panel of Economists.

2.6 Consideration and adoption of the Report of the Preparatory Meeting at Ministerial Level of the Twelfth Summit Conference

2.7 Other Matters

3. Report of the Chair of the Preparatory Meeting at Ambassadors/Senior Official level (3rd Item on the Agenda)

Minister Nzo requested Mr. Selebi, as Chair of the Preparatory Meeting on Ambassadorial/Senior Officials Meeting to present the Report of the afore-mentioned meeting (DS/SOM/3). The report was adopted as presented.

4. Consideration of recommendations on the preparation for the Twelfth Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries (4th Item on the Agenda)

Minister Nzo then moved to the next point on the Agenda, and suggested the meeting firstly addresses the item that deals with the Provisional Agenda, Item 4.1, as follows:.

4.1 Provisional Agenda

4.1.1 Opening Ceremony
4.1.2 Adoption of the Agenda
4.1.3 Report on the Preparatory Meeting at the Ministerial Level
4.1.4 Election of Officers
4.1.5 Organisation of work
4.1.6 Admission of new members and participation by observers
4.1.7 Report of the Chair of the Eleventh Conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Countries
4.1.8 Report by the Chair of the Ad-hoc Panel of Economists
4.1.9 Report by the Chair of the Ministerial Committee on Methodology
4.1.10 Review of the International political and Economic situation and the role of the Non-Aligned Movement in the new Millenium
4.1.11 Consideration and adoption of the Final Documents
4.1.12 Dates and venues of the meetings of the Non-Aligned Movement
4.1.13 Other Matters
4.1.14 Closing Session

4.2. Election of officers

Minister Nzo referred to the Report of the Preparatory Meeting at Ambassadorial/Senior Official Level (DS/SOM/4) in which a list of office bearers was proposed. He furthermore proposed that Colombia, as outgoing Chairman, ex officio served as an officer of the Summit, which was adopted.

4.2.1 The Meeting recommended the following officers to be elected for the Twelfth Conference:

4.2.1.1 For Vice Chair:
Africa: Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Sudan
Asia: Bangladesh, DPR of Korea, India, Pakistan, Palestine, Sri Lanka, Syria and Vietnam
Latin America and the Caribbean: Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Colombia.
Europe: Cyprus and Malta

4.2.1.2 General Rapporteur:
His Excellency Mr. George Winston McKenzie, Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Nations in New York.

4.2.1.3 Chair of the Political Committee:
* His Excellency Dr. M Javad Zarif, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran

4.2.1.4 Chair of the Economic and Social Committee:
* His Excellency Mr. Daudu Mwakawago, Permanent Representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations in New York

4.3. Organisation of work

4.3.1 The meeting decided to make the following recommendations to the Heads of State or Government regarding the work of the Twelfth Summit Conference as stated in Document DS/SOM/2:

4.3.1.1 The inaugural session of the Summit Conference will be held at 10:00 on 2 September 1998.

4.3.1.2 It was decided that the following representatives of the regional groups of the Non-Aligned Countries have been selected to reply to the inaugural address given by the President of South Africa, President Nelson Mandela, as the new Chair of the movement. It was further proposed that the said address be adopted as and official document of the Conference:

Africa: Namibia
Asia: Mongolia
Latin America and the Caribbean: Cuba
Europe: Cyprus

4.3.1.3 It was decided to deal with organisational matters as well as the admission of new members and the participation of observers at the first Plenary Meeting of the Conference. The following recommendations were therefore adopted by the Ministerial Meeting for adoption by the Summit level meeting:
- Belarus as a new member;
- Brazil, Belarus, China, the Ukraine, the Independentist of Puerto Rico and the OIC as observer speakers to the Summit level plenary meeting ;

4.3.1.4. The general debate on Review of the International Political and Economic Situation and the role of the Non-Aligned Movement in the new millenium, under Item 10 on the agenda of the Conference, will begin during the second session on 2 September 1998, with the understanding that evening sessions will be held if necessary.

4.3.1.5. The list of speakers for the general debate will be closed 12:00 noon on 2 September 1998.

4.3.1.6 The Heads of State or Government, or special envoys will be respectfully requested to limit their speeches to 7 minutes; observers will be requested to limit theirs to 3 minutes. The complete text of all speeches will be distributed by the Secretariat.

5. Roundtable on the Report of the NAM Ad Hoc Panel of Economists: Report of the Moderator

5.1 A Roundtable of Ministers met on 31 August 1998 to discuss the Report of the Non-Aligned Movement Ad Hoc Panel of Economists. Minister Alec Erwin, of South Africa, acted as moderator.

5.2 Dr. Gamani Corea, the Chairperson of the Panel, gave a brief presentation, which set out the key points of the Panel Report. Minister Erwin then invited participants to make their contributions. He suggested that inputs should address those areas of the Report that may require additional emphasis or identify issues that were not addressed in the Report. Delegates were requested to focus on how the recommendations in the Report could provide the basis for ensuring that the Non-Aligned Movement participate more effectively as a group in international negotiations.

5.3 Wide-ranging inputs were made by 20 participants from: Pakistan, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Columbia, India, Iran, Bangladesh, Gambia, Niger, Zambia, South Africa, Cuba, Guyana, Egypt, Malaysia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Iran.

5.4 The Roundtable discussion was welcomed by the participants who felt the work of the Panel should be continued in some way. The Moderator summarized the way forward in the following manner:

• That the Report be welcomed and included in the record of the Conference as a background to further deliberations and actions;

• That we express our thanks to the panelists and the chair for their work;

• That gratitude also be extended to the South Centre for the support given to the Panel;

• That a transcript of all inputs made by participants be made available, for information. It was noted that there was insufficient coverage of information technology, telecommunications and the role of the private sector. Proposals to revive the idea of a conference on international finance and monetary matters and the possible role of Ministers of Finance and Trade and Industry in NAM were also proffered. These could be considered;

• That South Africa, as the Chair, carry out consultations with Member States and other relevant experts (including those that contributed to the Panel Report) to develop a proposal which, if possible, should be presented to the Non-Aligned Movement Foreign Ministers Meeting during the forthcoming General Assembly session of the United Nations. The proposal could deal with the manner in which NAM should proceed to define a precise and prioritized negotiating agenda for the South; a mechanism for translating this agenda into a negotiating process (in this regard the role of the G77 and regional and sub-regional bodies should be considered) and the approach to be taken in negotiations (this approach should be inclusive of developed and developing and of differing views amongst developing countries).

• That through consultations with NAM Members, the Chair develop proposals to strengthen research networks among NAM Members to underpin the above processes.

5.5 The Roundtable agreed that these recommendations be conveyed to the Heads of State or Government.

5.6 The meeting agreed to the Moderator’s summary, and the Roundtable was concluded.

6. Consideration and adoption of the Report of the Preparatory Meeting at Ministerial level of the XIIth Conference (6^th Agenda item)

6.1 At its plenary meeting on 1 September 1998, the meeting adopted the to be completed draft report.

7. Other matters (7^th Agenda Item)

7.1 The Delegation of Peru made a statement which will be circulated.

7.2 The meeting agreed to convene on the 24^th of September 1998 in New York to prepare for the United Nations General Assembly.

7.3 The meeting noted that the Bureau requested, and the incoming Chair accepted, to convene the Methodology Committee to discuss the implementation of the Methodology Guidelines.