President calls for setting up of Palestine state in five years at NAM Summit

Sri Lanka has proposed to the NonAlligned Movement (NAM) that it should spearhead a campaign to set up a state of Palestine within the next five years while reiterating its longstanding position of recognising the Palestinian peoples right to self-determination and the nationhood.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe who addressed the 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in Kampala, Uganda, on Friday highlighted current global challenges, including the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the shift in the post-Cold War order, and the need for NAM to reinvent itself, transforming into the largest bloc representing 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 Gaza is destroyed? People were denied humanitarian aid and a vast majority of the dead were innocent civilians. Silence implies consent," President Wickremesinghe told the gathering that included top government leaders of 123 member states of the bloc.

While congratulating South Africa for the bold stand it has taken on Gaza by commencing a trial against Israel at the International Criminal Court, the President said that the international community has already called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the release of hostages.

President Wickremesinghe also stressed that 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 further noted that NAM membership today is no longer a grouping of weak states and that it must recognise that as a result of the rapid progress and economic advancement of some Asian, African and Latin American states, the majority of the ten leading economies of 2050 will belong to the NAM.

On the sidelines of the Kampala Summit, President Wickremesinghe held bilateral discussions with the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Prime Minister of the Bahamas Philip E. Davis, Prime Minister of Tanzania Kassim Majaliwa and Vice President of Benin Mariam Chabi Talata Zime Yerima.