The United States has decided to officially pass on an invite to the upcoming Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit.

Michael Parmly said the United States had not taken up an invitation to attend the summit of 116 developing nations as an observer as it has in the past, noting that Washington had a better relationship with previous host Malaysia than it does with communist Cuba.

Expected to attend the summit are reps from U.S. “enemy” nations such as Iran, Syria, North Korea and Venezuela. Another country expected to represent is India. The summit is expected to endorse Iran’s nuclear energy program, comdemn the Israeli bombing of Lebanon and criticize U.S. sanctions on Cuba.

The NAM was set up in 1961 in Belgrade by Third World nations that wanted to avoid being pawns in Cold War power games by not aligning with either Washington or Moscow. It has struggled to find relevance since the Cold War ended.

Cuban officials say Cuba, which takes over chairmanship from Malaysia for the next three years, wants to revive the movement as a defender of Third World interests disregarded by global capitalism.

No wonder the U.S. doesn’t want to go. But by not going does the U.S. further damage its reputation in the developing world?

Via / Yahoo! News