President John Dramani Mahama has challenged the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to move beyond declarations and turn its collective strength into practical action that can influence global affairs.
Speaking in Belgrade, President Mahama said the movement must strengthen coordination among member states and focus on areas where its collective voice can produce meaningful results.
He said NAM’s influence should not be measured simply by its large membership but by its ability to convert that numerical strength into coordinated diplomacy and tangible outcomes.
“The movement’s strength should be measured not only by our numbers, but by our ability to translate its collective weight into coordinated diplomacy and practical outcomes,” President Mahama said.
He called for stronger consultation among member states, particularly within the United Nations and other multilateral institutions where their interests overlap.
President Mahama also urged the movement to improve follow-up on decisions taken at its summits and ministerial conferences, while concentrating on strategic priorities where NAM can have a measurable impact.
The call comes as the movement seeks to remain relevant in a global environment that has changed significantly since its formation during the Cold War.
President Mahama said the pressures confronting developing countries now include renewed geopolitical competition, economic vulnerabilities, unequal access to finance and technology, climate change and an international system in which the Global South remains inadequately represented.
He said these challenges require NAM to adopt a more active approach to international affairs.
“In an increasingly fragmented and multipolar world, the non-aligned movement must preserve its strategic autonomy and resist the pressures of the politics of power blocs,” he said.
According to President Mahama, NAM must neither remain a silent spectator of global developments nor become an instrument of competing geopolitical interests.
Instead, he said, it should operate as an independent collective voice capable of advancing peace, dialogue, disarmament, development and justice.
He further called for stronger cooperation among member states on issues including development, finance, trade, climate change, debt, technology and reform of the global financial architecture.
President Mahama pointed to Ghana’s recent diplomatic experience as an example of what collective action can achieve.
He cited the March 25, 2026, United Nations General Assembly resolution led by Ghana and strongly supported by the African Union, condemning the trafficking of enslaved Africans and the racialised system of chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity.
The resolution received 123 votes in favour, according to President Mahama.
He thanked members of the Non-Aligned Movement for their support for Ghana and Africa, saying the outcome demonstrated the value of solidarity and collective action.
According to Mahama, that experience offers a model for how NAM can use its collective weight to achieve concrete results on issues affecting developing countries.
He said the movement must now strengthen its coordination and ensure that its shared principles translate into action for the benefit of its members and their people.
“We must move from declarations to actions,” President Mahama said.
