Saturday, September 16 2006 12:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Havana: Urging the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to reject extremes and be the voice of 'moderation, harmony and reason', Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday (Sept 15, 2006) said it should deal with urgent trans-national issues like terrorism, pandemics, energy security and environment.

In his address on the first day of the two-day NAM summit here, Manmohan Singh rejected the oft-quoted Western notion of a 'clash of civilisations' and said NAM should play the role of a bridge of understanding and work instead toward a confluence of civilisations.

He said for NAM to remain relevant it could not equivocate on terrorism.

"A message must emanate from us that we are united in our desire to fight and eliminate the scourge of terrorism. We cannot allow the forces of intolerance and extremism to distract the world's attention from the vital concerns of our people - the problems of poverty, ignorance and disease," the prime minister said, addressing leaders and delegates from 118 nations at the International Convention Center overlooking the vast Atlantic Ocean.

He said the world was being split along an artificially created cultural and religious divide and the NAM, encompassing as it does "every religion professed by mankind", was uniquely placed "to play the role of a bridge of understanding".

Manmohan Singh said NAM should spread the message of Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of peace.

"If we wish to revitalise the Non-Aligned Movement, the collective message of our summit must be seen as being central to the success of global efforts to deal with urgent trans-national issues - be it terrorism, pandemics, energy security or the environment.

"As a group we have rejected extremes,our voice must then be one of moderation, harmony and reason. If such is the voice of more than half of the people of the world, it will prevail," the prime minister concluded.