President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday stressed the need for dialogue and cooperation among nations to address global challenges including the Hamas-Israel conflict.
President Wickremesinghe was speaking at a dinner hosted by the Geopolitical Cartographer, an international research foundation specialising in the Indian Ocean, under the theme ‘Emerging New Order in the Indian Ocean Region’ at the Colombo City Centre.
The President cited the strained relationships among global powers and emphasised that the international community must work together to maintain a stable geopolitical system. He emphasized the importance of the current situation in Gaza and its potential impact on the global order.
President Wickremesinghe began by discussing how the conflict had unfolded, with Hamas attacking Israel, and the world’s initial sympathies with Israel, including Sri Lanka, which traditionally supported Palestine. He highlighted the recent developments, including Israel’s call for over a million people in Gaza to move to the south, drawing condemnation from various countries and organisations.
President Wickremesinghe expressed concerns about the global geopolitical implications of the conflict, particularly the challenges for the United States in managing multiple international issues simultaneously. He expressed hope that extreme reactions from different parts of the world should not dominate the discourse and that alternative solutions should be explored, including the possibility of a four-state solution involving Israel, Palestine, Gaza and Lebanon.
