President at UN General Assembly calls on rich countries to support less fortunate nations

Colombo (News 1st) - Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, called on the world's rich countries to honour their pledges to support less developed nations in the face of increasing challenges such as mounting debt and the adverse impacts of climate change.

"The world is undergoing levels of poverty and hunger not witnessed in decades. I call on all countries to unite to build an inclusive future based on international solidarity", the President said.

The President pointed out that despite promises of assistance by rich countries in the area of climate change mitigation which impacts countries such as Sri Lanka, "rich countries have not been delivering to expectations."

He noted that in the face of renewed superpower rivalries and new world alliances, it was becoming increasingly difficult for countries that wished to remain neutral and non-aligned.