Fifth Summit — Largest Ever
The Colombo Summit welcomed the participation of the newly-independent countries of Angola, Cape Verde, Comoros, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe and Seychelles and re-affirmed the resolve of the non-aligned nations to continue their struggle as long as the last vestiges of anachronistic colonial regimes remain.
In particular, the non-aligned countries are determined to pursue unremittingly their drive against apartheid, racism and racial discrimination, which continue to rear their ugly head in Zimbabwe and South Africa. The Colombo Summit strongly condemned the South African government for its illegal occupation of Namibia and for the brutalities being perpetrated by it at Soweto, Langa and other South African townships. With the continuous and united pressure of the non-aligned, we have confidence that the movement will be victorious in achieving its declared objectives in the entire region of Africa.
The fifth summit conference was the largest ever held of its kind. Attended by forty-two Heads of State or Government and by sixty-five ministers of foreign affairs, the summit gave a concrete demonstration of increasing international support for the objectives of the movement. The principles of peaceful co-existence, advocated by the non-aligned movement as the basis for international relations, have won widespread recognition from the world community. The conference served to emphasis the extent to which the policy of non-alignment has established itself as an independent and vital force for the solution of major international problems.
In fact, the united stand of non-aligned countries has become a determining element in the solution of many of these problems Outstanding examples, in addition to the significant role of the non-aligned group in the efforts to bring down the racist regimes of Southern Africa I have mentioned above, are the role of the non-aligned in relation to the situation in west Asia on the question of Palestine, in Cyprus, in Korea and, nearer home, in creating a climate of opinion in favour of the implementation of the proposal to declare the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace. On all these issues, the united voice of the non-aligned has become a solid force in the search for viable and practicable solutions. The aim now is to strengthen the integrity and solidarity of the movement through closer co-ordination and co-operation and increase further its effectiveness for an impact on world peace.