Iran officially launches international NAM news agency

Iran has launched the international news agency of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ahead of the forthcoming summit of the movement in Tehran in late August.

During a ceremony held in the Presidential Office on Wednesday, the the news agency was officially launched with deputy head of the 16th NAM summit for public relations and communications, Mohammad Sheikhan, in attendance.

Addressing the ceremony, Sheikhan emphasized the key role that mass media play in the modern world, expressing hope that the NAM news agency would be a harbinger of peace and justice across the globe.

“Although numerous economic corporations, the hegemonic system, and the global arrogance are seeking to hold media outlets under their sway in a bid to impose their materialistic thoughts and ideas on the international community, certain media have come into existence thanks to the awakening of nations which seek prosperity and perfection of the human society,” he pointed out.

Sheikhan further expressed hope that the newly-launched news agency would prepare the ground for a media movement, and could effectively promote the 16th NAM summit’s motto “Sustainable Peace on the Basis of Joint Global Management” across the world.

The 16th summit of the NAM member states will be held August 26-31 in the Iranian capital during which the Islamic Republic will assume the rotating presidency of the movement for three years.

NAM, an international organization with 120 member states and 21 observer countries, is considered as not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.

The organization was founded in the former Yugoslavia in 1961, and its member states account for nearly two-thirds of the UN members and 55% of the world population.

NAM’s purpose, as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979, is to ensure “the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries.”