President tells Arab envoys Lanka wants immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Sri Lanka wanted an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and would send aid to Gaza once the hostilities ended, President Ranil Wickremesinghe told ambassadors of 10 Arab countries during a meeting on Thursday (11).

“We are ready to build a school in Gaza. A Palestinian state must be recognised immediately,” President said, adding that Sri Lanka’s stance on Palestine and the current conflict was very clear.

Wickremesinghe said no country must be allowed to wipe out another nation.

“Based on an attack by Hamas, Israel can’t wipe out an entire society that lives in Gaza, which is now close to being obliterated.”

Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka’s foreign policy now was to maintain closer relations with Arab countries.

“Soon, we will open an embassy in Kazakhstan to replace the one we had in Kabul. With this, we can reach out to Central Asian nations.”

With regard to attempts by Sri Lanka to send ships to the Red Sea, Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka did not have the capacity to send a ship by itself.

“The Navy indicated if they were to go, they would like to go with some cover. However, we do not want any Israeli participation in this freedom of navigation operation. We will support whatever measures are taken by the Arab world to mitigate the problems in the Middle East,” he said.