Lanka seeks counter-terrorism as NAM8217;s top agenda

Bhaila said the 8220;impressive advances8221; made by the Lankan government in the North under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa heralded the end of the road for terrorism and violence in the country.

Emphasizing that 8220;counter-terrorism8221; should be kept on the top of NAM8217;s agenda,he maintained that 8220;no entity postulating or practising terrorism should be allowed to claim to represent any community,ethnic or religious interests.8221;

8220;Each sovereign state has an inalienable right to protect its territorial integrity and maintain peace and security and the rule of law within its borders,8221; the minister told the meeting on Thursday.

The Sri Lankan Minister also identified the current financial crisis as the leading cause for the decline in growth levels among developing countries.

He said NAM could play a major role in taking initiatives on behalf of the member countries to address this situation.

8220;Exacerbated by the ongoing financial crisis,numerous challenges including lack of food security and threats to energy security,have the potential to roll back national economic and development gains,so painfully realized by developing countries over the decades,8221; he said.

Bhaila led the Sri Lanka delegation to the two-day NAM ministerial conference,which ended in the Cuban capital on Thursday.

This preparatory meeting to the forthcoming 15th NAM Summit in Egypt in July 2009 adopted the final document and communiqué on the situation in the Middle East.

The meeting was attended by foreign ministers and high level representatives of more than 125 member states and observer countries.