5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement

5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement
	Venue of the Summit
Host country	Sri Lanka
Date	16–19 August 1976
Cities	Colombo
Chair	Sirimavo Bandaranaike; (Prime Minister of Sri Lanka)
Follows	4th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (Algiers, Algeria)
Precedes	6th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (Havana, Cuba)

5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement on 16–19 August 1976 in Colombo, Sri Lanka was the conference of Heads of State or Government of the Non-Aligned Movement.^[1] 86 nations participated in the summit with additional 30 observers and guests representing all the continents in the world.^[2] The Summit is the biggest international conference ever held in Sri Lanka and one of the greatest achievements in its foreign policy.^[3] The event took place at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, the first purpose-built conference hall in Asia.^[4] It was the first heads of state or government summit of the movement to be organized in Asia.^[4] The decisions on the NAM Coordination Bureau organisation and membership conditions were formally defined at the Colombo Summit.^[5] The body was to have 25 members (12 from Africa, 8 from Asia, 4 from Latin America and 1 from Europe) and was expected to meet regularly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.^[5]

Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike prioritized economic issues in discussions motivated both by Sri Lanka's own economic interests and a creation of a more properly non-aligned venue free of extreme anti-western rhetoric.^[6] India, Sri Lanka, SFR Yugoslavia and Indonesia worked together at the conference to temper more radical proposals by some of the newer member states of the Movement.^[2] The conference nevertheless defined Zionism as a form of racism, a definition which was restated at future NAM events.^[5]

The logo of the conference included references to five values of self-determination, economic development, peace and security, solidarity and the denial of colonialism and imperialism.^[7] The Government of Sri Lanka declared the public holiday to enable residents in the capital city to get to the street and see and greet foreign guests.^[7]

Sri Lanka selected senior career diplomats to handle the organization of the event with Dr. Vernon Mendis, High Commissioner in London as the Secretary-General of the Summit, and Leelananda de Silva as the Secretary to the Economic Committee of the Summit.^[4] It was the first conference in which Vietnam took place after the reunification of the country.^[8] The summit was publicly marked in various ways with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka releasing commemorative Rs. 5 coins and two post stamps of Rs 1.15 and Rs. 2 both carrying the portrait of Prime Minister Bandaranaike while the Ceylon Tobacco Company produced a special brand of cigarettes called ‘Summit’.^[4] While the Delegation of Yugoslavia arrived to the city by plane, the country also sent the Yugoslav training ship Galeb to the Port of Colombo ahead of the event.^[5] The ship served as a venue for bilateral and informal meetings with other participants with first lady Jovanka Broz serving as a host.^[5]