State of Palestine must be recognised within next five years:
NAM should not be silent on Gaza:
Vital role for NAM in Multi-polar World:
Debt and climate crises should be addressed :
President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday pressed on the need for the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) to reinvent itself, transforming into the largest bloc representing the Global South.
The President with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa at the NAM Summit
Delivering his address at the 19th Summit of the NAM held at the Speke Resort Convention Centre in Kampala, Uganda, President Wickremesinghe highlighted the current global challenges, including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the shift in the post-Cold War order, and emerging multi-polar dynamics.
Proposing the recognition of the State of Palestine and addressing various geopolitical, economic, and technological issues, he called for a united NAM with updated objectives to build a multi-polar world.
The President urged the NAM leaders to work towards a dynamic bloc capable of shaping the new global order, stressing that the future lies in their hands.
He commended President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda for assuming leadership at the 19th NAM Summit and also expressed gratitude to President Museveni and the people of Uganda for hosting the pivotal Summit of the 120-nation bloc.
Following is the full speech delivered by President Wickremesinghe:
“Let me begin by congratulating President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda for taking over the helm of the Non Aligned Movement at this 19th Summit.
Your leadership is even more timely as Uganda assumes this role at a critical moment of collective awareness among countries of the Global South. This is the first NAM Summit following the onset of the Covid pandemic, the global debt crisis, the Climate catastrophe, new global competition, and the ensuing multiple implications for the world, in particular, for the Global South.
As we meet today, a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the Gaza Strip and beyond. For over three months, immense suffering and losses have been endured by the Palestinian civilian population, endangering regional security and stability. Until now, the NAM was largely silent. How can we remain silent when the Gaza Strip is destroyed in this manner? People are denied humanitarian aid and a vast majority of the dead are innocent civilians. Silence implies consent.
It is encouraging that this 19th Summit has given the highest priority to this crisis in Gaza and the inalienable rights of the people of Palestine to self- determination and the realisation of an Independent and Sovereign State of Palestine. We must congratulate South Africa for the bold stand it has taken in regard to Gaza. The international community has already called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages.
There cannot be a two-State solution based on one State – Israel. No resolution is possible without a State of Palestine. Therefore, in line with multiple UN Resolutions, and the Declaration of this Summit, the international community must recognise the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem as territories coming within the State of Palestine and in addition there should be no change in the ethnic composition of Gaza. Sri Lanka also proposes that the State of Palestine be established within the next five years and no more.
Open conflicts
We are now witnessing the end of the post Cold War order and the coming into being of the evolving multi-polar world. On the geopolitical front, we are witnessing a resurgence of latent and open conflicts involving former and aspiring major powers.
In Europe, the transatlantic military alliance has been strengthened, past arms control agreements have collapsed, military expenditure has reached historically unprecedented levels and nuclear weapons are once again the subject of apparently serious policy discussion. Outer Space and the Oceans have become potential theatres of conflict and geo-strategic competition including in our vicinity in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Free trade and economic integration is being reversed by policy driven rise of trade protectionism due to strategic competition among major powers. Furthermore, this is being extended further with the concepts of de-coupling and de-risking.
There is a unilateral declaration of a new trade order and the setting aside of multilateralism by the West of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). There is also the weaponising of the Dollar.
There are new challenges of economic and the debt crisis, Climate Justice and food and energy security. Digital and technological divides and advanced Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) arsenals have aggravated existing inequalities between the developing states of the NAM and the developed world.
Rapid progress
The theme of this Summit ‘Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence” reflects the need to address the inequities between these two worlds. Furthermore, experience shows us that, to succeed we need a strong and united NAM that contributes to a better world for all. To do so, we have to reinvent ourselves.
Our membership today is no longer a grouping of weak States. We must recognise that this is a result of the rapid progress and economic advancement of some of Asian, African and Latin American States.
A majority of the 10 leading economies of 2050 will belong to this Movement. We see among us, rising aspirants for leadership status in global affairs. They must be prepared to give leadership. Furthermore, there is a vital role we must play as geostrategic rivalries in political, economic, technological and military terms become more pronounced among former and new contenders for Major Power status.
Therefore, the NAM must reinvent itself under your Chairmanship. Assume a new role in a multi-polar world – to transform itself as the largest bloc representing the Global South. We must also recast our objectives. While upholding the Bandung Principles in the evolving multi-polar world we need to: oppose the spread of Big Power rivalry including the coercion of uncommitted States and build a multi-polar world which incorporates the political, economic, social and Climate Change mitigation aspirations of the Global South.
Let us transform ourselves from this loose movement to become a dynamic bloc of the Global South and its friends. Let us establish an effective permanent operational structure which is equipped to address the contemporary challenges facing the Global South. Let us make it an organisation which is capable of shaping the new order.
Our future lies in our hands. We can make it or break it. Let us make it work.
Let me conclude by thanking the President, the Government and the people of Uganda for the excellent arrangements for hosting this important 19th Summit of the Non Aligned Movement.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry PC, Minister of State Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, Members of Parliament Kins Nelson, Nimal Piyatissa, Kumarasiri Ratnayake and Udayakantha Gunathilake, President’s Secretary Saman Ekanayake and President’s Senior Adviser on Climate Change Ruwan Wijewardene were also present on this occasion.
