The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) was born out of the womb of the post-World War II era, and as a consequence of an ideological conflict between the East and West Camps. During that period, hundreds of millions of people got rid of colonialism. The leaders of newly independent states feared their countries would be the scene of competition between Socialism and Capitalism. Thus, they created a number of ideas with the purpose of steering away from a potential conflict zone. Non-alignment was first conceived in the 1955 Bandung Conference of Afro-Asian Solidarity in Indonesia. In 1961, the Non-Aligned Movement was established thanks to the efforts of such leaders as Gamal Abdelnasser (Egypt), Jawaharlal Nehru (India), Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia) and Ahmed Sukarno (Indonesia).

NAM is the parent-organization of various groupings of developing nations, which seek to defend their interests in the competition between rich and poor and North and South. For developing countries to cull the fruits of South-South cooperation, it is essential to promote solidarity and coordination between those groupings. Duality and conflict of role and interests should be avoided to prevent a weakened negotiating position facing advanced nations which hold control of international financial and monetary institutions.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, a great controversy was held both inside and outside the Movement over its present and future role. Two completely different views evolved. The first maintained that NAM was obsolete particularly as its raison d'être was actually no more existent. The Cold War had ended and several changes took place with regard to some of its founding members. Yugoslavia, for instance, disintegrated into several smaller states. Other countries entered into strategic alliances with the US.

Another view is that the Movement had more justifications to continue than to disappear. NAM had secured many achievements in the past. Numerous challenges arose, which called for revitalizing its role: e.g. the need to defuse tensions and solve international and regional problems which have lasted for a long time. NAM could also help prevent developed countries from hegemonizing over developing, and from interfering in their affairs using such pretexts as the fight against terrorism, humanitarian intervention, and the spread of democracy. The Movement seeks to achieve global economic reform, narrow the widening economic gap between North and South, end poverty and hunger and promote dialogue and coexistence between peoples and cultures.

NAM countries believe that the movement's existence has been validated by recent international changes. The end of the Cold War and the bi-polar system, that NAM has promoted international cooperation to end fear and intolerance. It is time the Movement self-developed in order to deal effectively with the new challenges facing it. It is time it boosts its capabilities to handle both internal and external conflicts.

Egypt NAM vision

Egypt believes that the Non-Aligned Movement represents the most important and broader framework for coordinating stances of the developing countries regarding the various political, economic, and social issues on the agenda of the United Nations along with supporting collective action in the face of unilateral policies, which constitute a challenge facing the third world countries, the majority of them are members of the movement.

Egypt is very much interested in the movement and the need to preserve it for its regional and international positive influence.

Egypt has played a key role not only in founding the NAM at the first summit in the Yugoslav capital Belgrade in 1961, but its role started even before the birth of the movement as well, when Egypt played a leading role in developing the idea of its establishment, and then converted this idea into a significant entity on the ground since the very beginning at the 1955 Bandung Conference.

Egypt believes that the international arena today is witnessing the collapse of the principles on which the Non-Aligned Movement was established. This is an alarming situation, particularly with respect to non-interference in the internal affairs of States, respect of their sovereignty, stability and independence of their decision, and the inadequacy of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity to prevent interference in the internal affairs of States. More and above internal affairs became a pretext for imposing hegemony on others. All these are massive challenges that require maintaining the movement with rebuilding and promoting its capabilities.

NAM documents and evolution assert the role of Egypt in promoting the movement. This leading Egyptian role in establishing and building the Non-Aligned Movement, in addition to its cultural and political weight, constitutes the basis on which Egypt depends for supporting the movement in the future, through intensifying joint efforts with many countries seeking to support the movement for the development of objectives and mechanisms, and to make them more efficient in dealing with major political, economic and cultural changes in the global arena, especially after the movement shifted from a 25nation at the first constituent summit to a large entity currently comprising 118 members from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.