(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Speaking ahead of the 16th Non-Aligned Movement (Nam) summit, starting in Tehran on Thursday, the country's Ambassador to India Mohammed Ghassan Shaikho said it was time to create a new political vision for the region.
It should be based on two key principles - 'good working relations between neighbours and non-interference in internal affairs of other states', he told the Times of India newspaper.
'We must recognise the importance of regional groups to deal with regional problems.”
Shaikho said as a founding member of Nam, India should take the lead in helping shape the new vision.
'India has strong strategic interests in our region,' he said in the report.
A major security operation is underway ahead of the two-day summit, which will be attended by heads of state and government officials from more than 30 countries.
Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa will represent His Majesty King Hamad at the event as part of efforts to support the organisation's dedication to promoting global peace and security.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is also expected to be among delegates.
The summit will focus on the Syrian crisis and unrest across the Middle East, but Shaikho believes Nam should also tackle global problems.
'The international environment is conducive to co-operation and achieving the goals and missions of Third World countries,' he told the Indian paper.
'We need to co-operate with the United Nations and lend our might to solving the problems of global warming and technology.'
Nam, a Cold War grouping founded in 1961, has 120 members who represent most of the developing world and classifies itself as independent of the US and Russia. Bahrain has been a member since 1971.
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