China’s President Xi Jinping has dispatched Vice Premier of the State Council Liu Guozhong to attend the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Kampala, Uganda.
The five-day-long international event kicked off this Monday morning amid tight security.
China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning told the media in Beijing today that “President of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has sent several letters to invite President Xi Jinping to the 19th NAM Summit and the third South Summit.”
Ning said, “For greater solidarity and cooperation among developing countries, Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will attend the two summits as the Special Representative of President Xi Jinping.”
Ning further observed that China, as the biggest developing country, is a natural partner of NAM and a member of the Global South.
to“The South Summit is the highest-level meeting of G77 and an influential international meeting in South-South cooperation,” she noted, adding, “The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a platform that brings developing countries together for seekChina’s Vice Premier Guozhong will Attend NAM Summit in Uganda strength and oppose imperialism, hegemony, and colonialism.”
Opening the summit today, Uganda’s Foreign Minister Gen. Abubakar Jeje Odongo said the event comes at a time the world is grappling with many challenges, “including terrorism, climate change, debt burden, and famine, among others, and it is therefore befitting that this year’s summit will be held under the theme, Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence.”
Odongo said, “NAM continues to hold significance as an organisation, and in light of the intricate global landscape, the continued relevance of the 10-point Badung Principles remains evident in the present era.”
Over 40 presidents from across Africa are expected at the event.
NAM boasts the largest grouping of states worldwide after the United Nations, with 120 member states, 18 observer nations, and 10 organisations.
In Beijing, Ning said China and Africa belong to a community with a shared future. “China stands ready to take this visit as an opportunity to work with the rest of the vast developing world, including African countries, to advance the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative, champion an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalisation, strive towards building a community with a shared future for mankind, and write a new chapter of developing countries upholding independence and seeking strength through solidarity,” she noted.