President Ranil Wickremesinghe commended President Yoweri Museveni for assuming leadership at the 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Kampala, Uganda and expressed gratitude to President Museveni and Uganda for hosting the summit.

He highlighted the current global challenges, including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the shift in the post-Cold War order, and emerging multipolar dynamics.

President Wickremesinghe emphasized the need for NAM to reinvent itself, transforming into the largest bloc representing the Global South.

Proposing the recognition of Palestine and addressing various geopolitical, economic, and technological issues, he called for a united NAM with updated objectives to build a multipolar world.

The President urged for a dynamic bloc capable of shaping the new global order, emphasizing that the future lies in their hands.

President Wickremesinghe further said that Sri Lanka also proposes that the State of Palestine be established within 5 years. “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 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 5 years and no more,” he said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ali Sabry PC, Minister of State Mr. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, Members of Parliament Mr. Kings Nelson, Mr. Nimal Piyatissa, Mr. Kumarasiri Ratnayake, Mr. Udayakantha Gunathilake, President’s Secretary Mr. Saman Ekanayake, President’s Senior Adviser on Climate Change Mr. Ruwan Wijewardene were also present on this occasion.