Non-aligned Movement Summit

1976 - The 5th Summit of the Non-aligned Movement(nam) was held in August 19, 1976 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was the biggest international conference ever held in Sri Lanka and one of the greatest achievements in its foreign policy. 86 nations participated in the summit with additional 30 observers and guests representing all the continents in the world. The event took place at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, the first purpose-built conference hall in Asia. Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike prioritized economic issues in the discussions and the Government of Sri Lanka declared the public holiday to enable residents in the capital city to get to the street to see and greet foreign guests.