President to address 19th NAM Summit and 3rd South Summit in Uganda: PMD

18 January 2024 11:16 am Views - 676

Colombo, Jan. 18 (Daily Mirror)- President Ranil Wickremesinghe is set to take centre stage at the upcoming 19th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and the 3rd South Summit of the Group of 77 and China, scheduled from January 19 to 22, 2024, in Kampala, Uganda, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said.

At the invitation of President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, President Wickremesinghe will not only participate in these critical global gatherings but will also address both the NAM Summit and the South Summit. 

During his visit to Kampala, he is slated to engage in discussions with counterparts from the Global South, with a special focus on strengthening ties with leaders from the African region.

This year's Summit is themed 'Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence' and will kick off with meetings of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Senior Officials. 

The NAM, founded on the Bandung Principles and comprising 120 member-states, aims to advance the interests of developing nations, with Sri Lanka being a founding member and former Chair from 1976 to 1979.

Simultaneously, the Third South Summit, operating under the theme 'Leaving No One Behind,' seeks to enhance cooperation across 134 member states in areas such as trade, investment, sustainable development, climate change, poverty eradication and the digital economy.

As the largest coalition of developing countries in the United Nations, the Group of 77 empowers the Global South to articulate and promote collective economic interests, strengthening joint negotiating capacity on major international economic issues.

Uganda is poised to assume the chairmanship of both NAM and the G77 & China from Azerbaijan and Cuba, respectively.