The NAM summit, to be held in Tehran later this month, will be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and sources said the meeting is expected to be dominated by the burning issues in the Middle East.
India, however, would like the group to focus more on achieving positive South-South cooperation, be it in areas of science and technology or capacity building.
"There will be attempts at NAM to raise issues of particular groups or countries. Our aim is to try and focus NAM on being a vehicle South South cooperation--anything we can make a difference rather than to duplicate issues which have been already been caught in other fourms.
"We would like to give a certain reinvigoration to NAM as building the capacity within the entire group to actually say that you are not dependent on anyone..." sources said.
The issue of Syria, they said, is in all likelihood to be a major issue in the NAM summit given that it is crucial to Iran as also of vital interest to other Arab countries.
On Syria, the sources said, India's effort at the United Nations has been to tone down the debate and focus on the people and on finding out a solution.
On the question of this year's SAARC summit, the sources said as the host country Nepal has to take an initiative and propose dates and modalities, something the country has not done as yet. (more)