Ban’s withdrawal from NAM summit will diminish UN influence:Iranian Majlis speaker

TEHRAN, Aug. 21 (MNA) – The Iranian Majlis speaker said on Sunday that fact that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has decided to stay away from the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Tehran it will reduce the UN influence in the world. Ali Larijani said if the UN is interested in “covering” the whole world, it must be actively involved in summits like NAM in Tehran. Larijani went on to say that that the absence of the UN secretary general would not cause any problem for the summit, rather NAM has a “mechanism” which is “beneficial” for the UN. NAM, a 120 member body, accounts for almost two-thirds of the UN General Assembly. NAM summit will be held next week.