Accra, July 13, GNA- President John Evans Atta Mills would be absent from Ghana from Tuesday, July 14 to Friday July 17, during which he would attend the 15th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) to be held in the Red Sea Resort of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

The general debate at the summit would focus on the issue of international solidarity for peace and development and the current global economic and financial crisis. A release from the Office of the President, signed by Mr Mahama Ayariga, the Presidential Spokesperson, said other activities at the meeting would include the election of the Bureau and the admission of new members.

Heads of state or their representatives from 118 NAM- member countries are expected to attend the five-day event. The 15th NAM gathering will begin with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak taking over the rotating NAM presidency from Cuba. Iran, the Arab League, the UN, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference and the African Union have been invited to attend the meeting, the source said.

The conference is expected to discuss a spectrum of issues, primarily UN reform, the fallout of the global financial meltdown, Iran's controversial nuclear dossier, non-proliferation, interfaith dialogue, piracy, human trafficking and NAM reform. Founded in April 1955, NAM is an international organisation of states that are not aligned with any major power bloc. The movement is largely the brainchild of Egypt's late President, Gamal Abdul Nasser, the former India Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, former Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito and former Indonesian President Sukarno. The purpose of the organisation as stated in the Havana Declaration of 1979 is to ensure the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries. 13 July 2009