BELGRADE, Serbia

The Non-Aligned Movement formed in 1961 under the leadership of the former Yugoslavia when the world began to polarize between East and West brings together leaders from over 100 countries in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, to mark its 60th anniversary.

With the formation of the movement, the leader of the former Yugoslavia, Yosip Broz Tito, became a statesman around the world and the movement was defined as a third bloc formed alongside the USA and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

It was established in order not to be a party to the divisions between the East and the West. It began to disintegrate in the 1970s when some countries preferred one of the other two blocs.

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The Non-Aligned Movement managed to include more than 100 countries such as Yugoslavia, India, and Indonesia and prevented the economic and political problems of the countries from progressing at a serious level.

With the death of Tito in 1980, the Non-Aligned Movement completely lost its influence.

Although the Non-Aligned Movement lost its influence on the stage of history in a very short time, the countries involved in the movement continued to organize conferences and summits where current issues were discussed.

Belgrade, once the capital of Yugoslavia, is hosting the summit again as part of the 60th anniversary of the Non-Aligned Movement, which now includes more than 100 countries.

The summit, attended by Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as the guest of honor, brings together representatives of 105 countries and 9 international organizations.

The two-day summit is considered a high-participation event that is taking place despite the coronavirus pandemic in Europe.

The last summit was held in the capital Baku in 2019, hosted by Azerbaijan, which was included in the Non-Aligned Movement in 2011 and is the current secretary-general.