Caracas 19 Sep (ANA) - Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has touted the 17th meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement as one that would "be remembered for centuries", as the unpopular leftist seeks to bolster his international legitimacy. Yet the turnout from the 120-nation Cold War-era bloc has paled compared with past meetings, including the previous summit in Iran in 2012, attended by some 35 heads of state. Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Iran's Hassan Rouhani and Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas, as well as regional allies from Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia are among the few heads of states who have landed on the Caribbean island of Margarita. The half-century old movement formed by nations wanting to avoid aligning with the United States or Soviet Union has dwindled in relevance over the years. But it appears that heads of states' attendance at the summit in recession-stricken Venezuela is particularly low, possibly even in single digits, although the government did not respond to a request for a list of attendees. Venezuela's opposition, vying to remove Maduro in a recall referendum, has jumped on low attendance as a sign of his isolation. (ANA) 

FA/ANA/19 September 2016------