Sri Lanka seeks closer association in BRICS

Sri Lanka congratulates  your Excellency President Vladimir Putin as Chair of the 16^th BRICS Summit and  for hosting this outreach BRICS PLUS Dialogue . 

I also bring you greeting from His Excellency President Anura Kumara Dissanayake,  who was elected as the 9^th Executive President of Sri Lanka last month. His Excellency President Dissanayake conveys to you his appreciation for  this invitation  extended to Sri Lanka 

Excellency, 

Sri Lanka’s bid for membership in  BRICS and the New Development Bank is an important aspect of our global outreach. 

Excellencies, 

Sri Lanka considers BRICS to be an effective partnership to realize our collective   aspiration for mutually beneficial cooperation, development and for building resilient economies. The diversity of the group and its expanding list of membership candidates, which includes Sri Lanka, highlights the relevance of BRICS in today’s world. We are pleased that this Summit has approached the subject of BRICS extension in a forward-looking manner, through Partnership status. 

Your Excellency, 

Sri Lanka shares the aspirations of BRICS for a more equitable and just world, based on solidarity, equality and mutual respect,  through inclusive multilateralism. BRICS seeks to give voice and leadership to the Global South in international decision-making, upholding the impartial application of international law within the framework of the UN Charter.  This resonates with the objectives of the Government of Sri Lanka  to deliver  ethical governance which prioritizes growth with equity and justice for the  people without discrimination. 

Excellency, 

As highlighted by BRICS,  we consider the need to reform the institutions of global governance including the global financial architecture as an important starting point. 

Ongoing transformations in the community of sovereign states must be reflected within the structures of multilateralism, a framework that we greatly value, as it recognizes the valuable principle of sovereign equality to all States, big and small. 

Today there is a mismatch between the composition and priorities of the international community and its multilateral institutional structures established in the last century. 

These structures were established in a world where there was no pandemic, climate change , sovereign debt , cyberspace,  artificial intelligence,  globalized financial transactions and sophisticated supply chains. The collective voice of the global South did not exist. 

The current state of the world beset by geopolitical and geoeconomic rivalries clearly demonstrate that the structures need to be reformed  if we are to effectively  maintain peace , security and sustainable development and  meet inter alia, the  financial , climate , energy, technological and digital challenges of the future. 

The composition and nature of the international community has also changed. Several current and prospective members of BRICS  present here today, are well on their way, or already are,  among the leading economic, technological and political powers of an emerging multipolar world . They were not present at the table as sovereign independent states when these institutions were established. 

Clearly these institutions must be made fit for contemporary purpose, as well as representative, legitimate, and  democratic. 

For example , as a middle-income country  Sri Lanka’s ongoing  experience with navigating post-pandemic sovereign debt recovery brings into sharp relief  that reform is needed to provide a global safety net and a way forward for developing countries in debt distress, touching the lives of hunderds of millions.  

Multilateral efforts to advance sustainable development, social inclusion and energy transition cannot be realized when debt service payments must take precedence over investment in public goods, social infrastructure and  human development.  According to data a significant number of developing countries spend more on interest payments than on either education or health. 

 We believe that Initiatives such as the New Development Bank (NDB) has the potential to address some of the gaps for financing sustainable and critically important physical and social infrastructure projects in Global South economies. Sri Lanka intends to move forward on its application for membership of the NDB. 

Against this background , BRICS leaders have prioritized expanding trade, investment, economic partnerships and people to people contacts  to enhance growth and to generate tangible benefits for our people.   

In Sri Lanka, as a result of ongoing economic governance, prudent fiscal and monetary reforms and trade expansion measures, we have achieved rapid economic stabilization with an upwardly revised growth rate for 2024. We now look forward to expand mutually supportive potential collaboration with other emerging market economies, such as BRICS. 

As we stabilize following  a deep economic and sovereign debt crisis and gradually rebuild external buffers we support the momentum  in BRICS  for the use of national  currencies, supplementary  financial arrangements and payment systems to enhance  mutual trade and to avoid related obstacles.   

Excellency, 

Sri Lanka’s  strategic maritime location in the centre of the Indian Ocean where the busiest East-West  sea lanes of communication operate and its digital and human resource infrastructure  will be a unique value additions to the BRICS framework. The country  is positioned to be a major ocean trading hub, and  offers valuable maritime infrastructure including world-class port and transshipment facilities for a Blue Economy.  We are a strategic ocean partner in promoting maritime safety and security, marine conservation, and the freedom of navigation. 

Mr President , 

On security issues, the Kazan Declaration expresses concern about the situations of open conflict which  are continuing in multiple regional and international theaters.  Escalation of conflict and vast and wasteful expenditures on weapons which cause immense humanitarian suffering must not replace diplomacy, disarmament, negotiation and the peaceful settlement of crises. 

Sri Lanka rejects terrorism and violence , and calls for solutions within the universally agreed framework of the UN Charter, taking into account the legitimate security concerns of all states. We support the impartial application of international law devoid of selectivity, politicization and double standards.  

We agree with the Kazan Declaration that the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza must end and we must ensure a ceasefire and the realization of a just and lasting solution for the people of Palestine, within the framework of a  two-state solution. We must prevent further escalation of the situation in the region including in Lebanon. 

Your Excellency President  Putin , 

Sri Lanka considers BRICS an opportunity to be a stakeholder in  global decision-making processes that ultimately affect the lives of our people. Sri Lanka’s contributions in regional and multilateral fora, our friendly relations with all states, our openness to trade, tourism, investment and economic engagement including though the private sector, our connectivity with the world though maritime, air and digital infrastructure,  and above all our firm commitment to deliver  a just and sustainable future for generations to come,  position us favorably to be a constructive partner in the BRICS outlook. 

Sri Lanka congratulates Brazil, as the future Chair of BRICS and look forward to continue to work with all Members in contributing to the objectives of BRICS .   

I thank you Mr President.

(Colombo Gazette)

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