Vice President Hamid Ansari on Thursday left for Venezuela to attend the 17th NAM Summit during which key issues of concern like terrorism, UN reform, climate change and nuclear disarmament are expected to be discussed.
Ansari is leading the Indian delegation in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is only the second Indian Premier to give the Cold War-era bloc’s summit a miss after Charan Singh in 1979.
The summit, which started on Tuesday and will end on September 18, is taking place in Venezuela’s Margarita Island and has meetings scheduled in three consecutive segments– officials-level, foreign ministers’ meet, and a conference of heads of state and government.
Minister of State for External Affairs M J Akbar is already in Venezuela to take part in the deliberations while Ansari will reach the country after an overnight halt in Berlin.
“The summit is expected to deliberate on issues of contemporary relevance and concern such as terrorism, UN reform, the situation in West Asia, threats to peace and security,” according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
