NAM Summit opens in Iran today, Syrian crisis on agenda

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Amidst Western efforts to isolate Iran over its nuclear programme, the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement will open here today with issues like Syrian crisis and Palestine statehood set to dominate the agenda.The Summit of the 120-nations grouping will open with Iran assuming the Chair from Egypt for the next three years.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is leading the Indian delegation to the two-day Summit which is being attended by over 30 Heads of State/Governments.While the US has asked countries not to attend the NAM Summit due to its venue, Iran is projecting the presence of worlds leaders as a big diplomatic win.Asked about crucial issues, including Syria on which the members have differing views, government sources said: “We don’t expect any fireworks on Syria… the attempt is to have a successful outcome of the Summit.”UN chief Ban Ki-moon also arrived here as an invited observer to the summit. The United States and Israel have ridiculously criticised Ban’s presence in Iran./129