Lesson 3/35 min
NAM, Commonwealth, CIS and Colombo Plan
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
- Full form: Non-Aligned Movement; the policy of joining neither Cold War camp
- Origin: the Asian-African conference at Bandung, Indonesia, 18–24 April 1955; the book names Panchsheel as the adopted principles
- Founded: 1961 at the first summit in Belgrade, Yugoslavia; 25 founding members
- Founding leaders: Tito (Yugoslavia), Nasser (Egypt), Nehru (India), Sukarno (Indonesia)
- 120 members; effectively no headquarters; a summit every three years
- 19th summit: Kampala, Uganda, 15–20 January 2024; Uganda is the current chair
- News agency: Nam News Network (NNN), Kuala Lumpur, founded 2005
Commonwealth
- Origins: the 1926 Imperial Conference; formally established on 26 April 1949 (London Declaration)
- Original name: British Commonwealth of Nations
- Headquarters: Marlborough House, London (the Secretariat since 1965)
- 56 members; the latest are Togo and Gabon (2022)
- Head: Charles III; secretary-general: Shirley Botchwey (Ghana), since 1 April 2025
- CHOGM 2026: St John's, Antigua and Barbuda, 1–4 November
- Bangladesh joined on 18 April 1972
- Pakistan was suspended in 1999 and returned in 2004; Zimbabwe left in 2003
- Members that were never British colonies: Mozambique, Rwanda, Gabon (the book adds Togo)
- Commonwealth Day: the second Monday of March; its diplomats are called high commissioners
Watch out: The book dates both Ireland's and Myanmar's departure to 1948. Myanmar stayed out at independence in 1948; Ireland left in 1949. The book's head, secretary-general, summit venue and Fiji suspension are also out of date.
CIS
- Commonwealth of Independent States; formed in 1991 by states that emerged from the Soviet Union
- Headquarters: Minsk, Belarus
- The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) never joined; Georgia left in 2009
- Turkmenistan is an associate member (since 2005)
Colombo Plan
- Founded: 28 November 1950; headquarters Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Seven initial members; 27 members now (the book's figure)
- Bangladesh became a member in 1972 (as the book states)
- Aim: cooperation to raise living standards in developing Asia-Pacific countries
Check yourself
When did Bangladesh join the Commonwealth?
At a glance
- 1
NAM's idea came from the Bandung conference (1955); founded 1961 at Belgrade; 120 members; no headquarters.
- 2
NAM's founding leaders were Tito, Nasser, Nehru and Sukarno.
- 3
The Commonwealth was formally established on 26 April 1949; 56 members; headquarters Marlborough House, London.
- 4
Bangladesh joined the Commonwealth on 18 April 1972.
- 5
The CIS was formed in 1991 with its headquarters in Minsk. The Colombo Plan was founded on 28 November 1950.