We note with interest the report from Cuba in yesterday's Observer that most of the Non-aligned Movement's 116 member countries have confirmed their participation in this month's summit scheduled to be held in Havana.

The Non-aligned Movement was formed in 1961 and was originally comprised of nations trying to build a Third World alliance mainly through a deliberate policy of non-alignment with the two superpowers, the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

At first, the Non-aligned Movement was vibrant and represented the collective interests of those nations seeking independent political and economic paths to development and governance without the encumbrances of joining or swearing allegiance to either the Warsaw Pact or the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO).

The movement served its stated mission and was seen as a viable alternative by those who abhorred dependence in whatever way on either the Soviet Bloc or the Americans. But a lot has changed in the world since the original charter of the Non-aligned Movement was promulgated in 1961.

The Cold War is over, the Iron Curtain has been shattered, and the Soviet Union does not exist any longer as a political or economic threat to the United States. The ethos of world politics has changed to more and more reflect an almost total American agenda and now embraces the formation of economic blocs exemplified by the European Union and the fight against terrorism.

Add to the mix the frightening speed of technological advances, especially in telecommunications, usually driven by the Americans and the condensation of the world into a technologically based global village and we can readily see and appreciate why the concept of non-alignment may now be redundant.

The choices available for alignment have been reduced and nations are increasingly trying to forge strategic bonds with geographic partners in efforts to foster greater economic leverage and economies of scale rather than seeking help thousands of miles away on the cold Steppes or on the Prairies.

Despite the changes the world has undergone over the last 20 years, we still believe that the Non-aligned Movement is relevant and has a significant role to play in the setting of world political and economic agendas. We do not believe that the Non-aligned Summit has been reduced to a talk shop for leaders to attend and smile for the cameras, as many of its critics claim.

While the role of the movement may have been reduced, something which we readily accept is that it still acts as a buffer for the marginalised countries that need help to build their political systems, their national economies and for some the fight against HIV-AIDS, to have a voice and to share their unique situations with the rest of the world.

Yes, the influence of the movement might be under threat right now, but supporters claim that despite the obvious impediments, the movement is still the voice of reason for the dispossessed in today's world. At least in the Non-aligned Movement they have a voice.

It is in this context that we wish the conference well in Cuba.

Executive Class

Gardens with Gravel

Necessary Luxury