Ranil to address NAM and G77 and China summits in Uganda, focusing on strengthening global south ties

President Ranil Wickremesinghe will address 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 Presidential Media Division (PMD) said in a statement on Thursday (18).

President Wickremesinghe has been invited to speak by President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda. 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, the PMD said. This year’s NAM 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.

The Third South Summit, held 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 and China from Azerbaijan and Cuba, respectively.

Accompanying President Wickremesinghe are Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry, Secretary to the President E.M.S.B. Ekanayake, Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane, Senior Advisor to the President on Climate Change Ruwan Wijewardene, and senior officials from the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.