Havana hosts the non-aligned summit this weekend

BY ORLANDO ORAMAS LEONONCE again, Havana will be welcoming the Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), for which more than 100 countries have confirmed their presence, and heads of state and government and other high-ranking officials are announcing their arrivals in this capital, which is putting the final touches to preparations for the momentous event.The presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia, Algeria, Ecuador, Pakistan, Iran, the Philippines, Laos, South Africa, along with the Emir of Qatar, and others, have confirmed their participation at the NAM Summit, which has the goal of being a watershed event for the movement that includes the majority of Third World countries.It was announced that Choummaly Sayasone, general secretary of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Party of Laos, and president of that Asian nation, will be the first head of state to arrive, this coming Sunday. However, he will be preceded by the prime minister of Bhutan and the deputy prime minister of Vanuatu on that same day.Sayasone will preside over the first Summit of Developing Landlocked Countries, while his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika, will lead the meeting of the High-Level Group for South-South Consultation and Cooperation, better known as the G-15. Both high-level meetings, to be held prior to the 14th NAM Summit, will place Cuba in the global spotlight.The International Convention Center, the Hotel Palco, the International Press Center and the José Martí International Airport, among other facilities, are almost ready to welcome a forum that extols multilateralism in a unipolar world.In Cuba, the Summit’s presence can already be felt, and not just among Cubans. The thousands of young people from Third World countries who are studying here to be doctors and other professionals will be sharing Cuban hospitality with leaders and representatives from their nations.THE HOMELAND IS HUMANITYRicardo Alarcón, president of the National Assembly of People’s Power, inaugurated the photographic exhibition Patria es humanidad (The Homeland is Humanity) in salute to the 14th NAM Summit.Alarcón said it was a great idea to mount the exhibition, which shows aspects of Cuba’s cooperation in health, education and other fields throughout the planet. (AIN)