CAIRO, July 15 (RIA Novosti) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was elected as chair of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at its 15th summit on Wednesday.
The 100-member organization was founded in September 1961 at the height of the Cold War by countries who refused to align with the major blocs of the U.S. and Soviet Union.
Mubarak will take over the three-year post from Cuban leader Raul Castro.
"It is great honor for our country to hand over power of the Non-Aligned Movement to one of its founders, Egypt," Castro said during a ceremony in the Egyptian Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Speaking on the organization's main goal, Castro said: "The Non-Aligned Movement considers that every country in the world must seek just solutions to the global economic crisis."
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in an address to summit participants that NAM is a "key element in forming the new multicentric world order" and is ready to "boost cooperation in the interests of strengthening international stability."
