Established in 1961, the Movement was originally comprised of nations trying to form a Third-World force through a policy of nonalignment with the United States and the Soviet Union.
This week's summit, which will last until 16 September, has gathered UN Secretary-General Koffi Annan as a guest, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Musa, and more than 50 heads of states.
Most of the 116 members of the Third-World movement of countries from Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America will be represented at the summit, which culminates in a meeting of the nations' leaders on Sept. 15 and 16, the organisers reported.
Croatia has had the status of an observer since 1992 and President Stjepan Mesic is expected at the Havana summit.
The former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) used to be one of the leading countries of the movement. However, countries-successors to the ex-SFRY seem to have expressed little interest in the NAM since the federation's break-up. Besides Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia also have the status of observers.
The capital of Cuba hosted the NAM summit also in 1979.