17 Jan 2024
Mr Chairman,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
1 I thank the government of Uganda for hosting this important Ministerial Meeting in preparation for the 19th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit, and I thank them for their warm and generous hospitality. I also thank Uganda for their leadership in steering the Senior Officials’ Meeting.
Mr Chairman,
2 At the outset, I would like also state that Singapore fully endorses and supports the statement delivered earlier by Lao PDR on behalf of the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
3 Singapore appreciates and fully agrees with Uganda’s chosen chairmanship theme, which is “A stronger and United NAM that contributes to a better world for all”. The world is indeed at an inflection point; the rules-based multilateral order which has underpinned international cooperation for nearly eight decades is being challenged by new threats to international peace and security, outbreaks of armed conflict in different parts of the world, a retreat to nationalism and protectionism, and a slowdown in progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Given this very challenging backdrop, the goal of international cooperation must be to strengthen solidarity, offer mutual support and leave no one behind. In that regard, please allow me to make two points.
4 Firstly, it is very important for NAM members to work together to reinforce and revitalise multilateralism to make it fit for purpose and make multilateralism more effective in tackling present and future challenges. Last year, the UN convened a very substantive and successful SDG Summit that offered a framework for accelerating the implementation of the SDGs. This year, we have another key opportunity, by building on the SDG Summit, to strengthen the UN and the multilateral rules-based system at the Summit of the Future in September 2024. NAM can and must play a leading role in the preparations for the Summit of the Future. In particular, NAM can contribute to international efforts to transform the global financial and developmental architecture to meet the needs of developing countries, develop a New Agenda for Peace, and address emerging threats from new technologies. We therefore welcome the reference in the Kampala Declaration that acknowledges the importance of the Summit of the Future and that calls on all NAM member states to participate actively in the Summit of the Future in order to achieve ambitious and concrete outcomes. The fact that the Summit of the Future process is being led by one of our own NAM members, Namibia, is of course a matter of great pride for all of us, and the success of the Summit would be the success not only of Namibia, but all members of the Movement.
5 Secondly, NAM members must stay united and uphold the founding principles of the movement, namely respect for the principles of the UN Charter and international law, and respect for the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and sovereign equality of states. In this regard, I wish to place on record Singapore’s disappointment that the Final Outcome Document of the Summit does not include the updates submitted by Lao PDR, on behalf of ASEAN. The longstanding issue of ASEAN not being unable to make substantive, factual updates to the outcome document of NAM meetings to address developments in our own region, does not reflect well on the credibility and effectiveness of the Movement. I would therefore like to urge all NAM members to work together in a constructive manner in the years ahead under the leadership of Uganda, to address shared issues of concern to NAM members and also to review the working methods of the Movement.
Mr Chairman,
6 In conclusion, I would like to congratulate Azerbaijan for its Chairmanship of the Movement for the past four years, during which Azerbaijan had steered the Movement through turbulent times and established many important new initiatives to strengthen the Movement. I also assure you of our delegation’s full support for Uganda’s chairmanship as you begin your leadership of NAM at this meeting; we assure you of our full cooperation to achieve the common goals of our Movement.
7 Thank you.
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