Vice President Ansari arrives in Venezuela to attend NAM Summit

TIL Desk/World/Margarita Island (Venezuela)-Vice President Hamid Ansari arrived here today to attend the 17th NAM Summit during which India is expected to raise its concerns over terrorism besides deliberating on key issues like UN reform, climate change and nuclear disarmament.

Ansari was received by Venezuela’s Executive Vice President Aristobuli Isturiz at the Santiago Mari o Caribbean International Airport here and was accorded a ceremonial welcome. The Vice President is leading the Indian delegation in the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is only the second Indian Premier to give the Cold War-era bloc’s summit a miss after Charan Singh in 1979.

While briefing reporters on his way to the summit being held in Venezuela’s Margarita Island, Ansari had said India will strongly take up its concerns about terrorism at the summit as it has been doing so at all international forums. “Yes we are doing it (raising concerns over terrorism) on all fora and certainly it (NAM) is an important forum and we will take it up, no question about it,” Ansari told reporters on his way to attend the NAM summit.