‘NAM seeks global peace, friendship’

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The meeting of the heads of state at the 16th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) has kicked off in the Iranian capital, Tehran, with an inaugural speech by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.The high-ranking delegations of the participating countries in the NAM summit, which is considered the second largest international body, are expected to discuss the most important international issues.Interview with Somali Deputy Minister for Energy Abdullah Dool to discuss the issues over the NAM summit.What follows is an approximate transcription of the interview.Q: I am joined live by Mr. Abdullah Dool, Somalia’s deputy minister for energy. Thank you very much for joining us here, tell us about the Non-Aligned Movement principals and about the goals pursued by the Non-Aligned Movement since its establishment back in 1961.Dool: The Non-Aligned Movement or NAM has been established in 1955; over 50 years [that it] exists, it has been promoting peace and coexistence on this world.The current 16th conference which is now hosted by the Islamic Republic of Iran is the reason why myself and two other ministers are here.So far the conference is going very well. It is a very successful conference. I am here to meet with over 100 delegations from members of NAM. So, so far it looks like that everything is going on as expected.Q: Well, you are the deputy minister of energy for Somalia. Do you think that the Member states of the Non-Aligned Movement can form a kind of an economic alliance or energy alliance which counters the monopoly of the West?Dool: This is a very small planet and the world has moved from polarization, there is globalization, we are friend with everybody, we promote friendship with every nation and we have excellent relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.The Islamic Republic of Iran has been very helpful and did come to our aid when Somalia had a drought and so did other friendly nations.What we promote is coexistence and friendship with all nations and Iran is a very close friend and we have traditional ties with the Islamic Republic as we do with many other nations.Q: Before the event in Tehran, a number of news agencies and also certain powers were trying to press countries not to attend the summit in Tehran. What is your take on this?Dool: I am not aware of any nations or any nation which has been discouraging the attendance of this very important conference.We seek friendship and harmony with all nations and so far almost all of the members have attended here. There are many high-level delegations. There are also heads of state coming to this conference, which will start from tomorrow. /129