Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (R) greets his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas at the Hugo Chavez Frias Convention Center in Margarita Island, Venezuela, on Sept. 17, 2016. Iran officially handed over the three-year rotating presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to Venezuela at the 17th NAM Summit held Saturday in Venezuela's Margarita Island. (Xinhua/Boris Vergara)
CARACAS, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Iran officially handed over the three-year rotating presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to Venezuela at the 17th NAM Summit held Saturday in Venezuela's Margarita Island.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani congratulated Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, saying that as NAM's head until 2019, he could "count on the support of the Iranian delegation."
Rouhani highlighted the challenges facing the world today, including the struggle of smaller countries to forge an independent path despite pressure from global powers.
Maduro underscored the movement's importance as a bloc that champions equality between states and rejects domination by a single power.
"With the emergence of new blocs of power and the rise of a new global geopolitics, our movement ... is gaining strength," said Maduro.
At least 14 presidents and prime ministers, as well as vice presidents and high-level representatives from the group's 120 member nations attended the summit.
NAM was founded in Belgrade in 1961. Its members share the goals of fighting imperialism, colonialism and oppression, but are not formally aligned.
