About 50 countries will participate in NAM summit at high level: Iranian FM

TEHRAN,Aug.25(MNA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that about 50 countries will participate in the upcoming summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in Tehran at a high level. So far, about 50 countries have announced that they will participate in the summit at the level of president, prime minister, king, and vice president, Salehi said during a televised program broadcast live on Iranian television on Thursday night. The XVI Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement is scheduled to be held from August 26 to 31. He said that Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will participate in the summit. On the importance of the summit for the Islamic Republic, Salehi said that Iran has not hosted such an event in its history and the incident is a turning point for the country. He went on to say that many Western countries made efforts to compel the NAM member states not to participate in the summit, but the countries have not paid any attention to such efforts and the fact that delegations from 120 countries will be participating in the NAM meeting proves the failure of those Western countries. Commenting on the promises made by certain Western countries to persuade member states to the NAM into not attending the summit in Tehran, Salehi said that the Islamic Republic of Iran managed to thwart the plots and convinced the countries that the summit belongs to them.