With US on mind, PM Narendra Modi may not attend NAM Summit in Venezuela

New Delhi: In an interesting development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to skip the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit to be held in Venezuela next month.

The Times of India on Wednesday quoted government sources as saying that the move is part of the government's efforts to bring about change in India's foreign policy.

According to the report, the government had received the invite for PM Modi to attend the summit weeks ago but is yet to accept the same.

In fact, Venezuela is sending its foreign minister and oil minister to India tomorrow to extend another invitation.

It will be for the first time that an Indian PM would skip NAM Summit since 1979 when Charan Singh was the caretaker prime minister. In fact, it was the only time when an Indian PM did not attend the NAM meet.

It may be remembered that India was among the founding members of the grouping.

NAM, founded in 1961, had brought together countries not aligned with the two major powers of that time — the US and the erstwhile USSR.

Analysts say Modi's likely decision to skip the NAM meet indicates India's growing closeness with the US. It is evident that under the Modi regime, the US has become India's most significant strategic partner.

Further, to downgrade India's engagement with NAM would also indicate New Delhi's effort to delineate itself from a platform that is seen as anti-US.