H.E. Yalchin Rafiyev, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan and current Chair of the NAM, Senior officials from NAM Member States, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning, On behalf of the Government and people of Uganda and on my own behalf, it is a pleasure to welcome you to Kampala for this Senior Officials segment of the 19th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which as we are all aware precedes the Ministerial session. 
I wish on the onset to thank the Chair, the Republic of Azerbaijan for steering the work of our movement since they assumed the chairmanship for the period 2019-2022, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I also thank them for graciously accepting to hold the Chair for one more additional year. Please join me in applauding Azerbaijan's leadership. Distinguished delegates, As you all know, the Senior Officials and Ministerial meetings are preparatory to the Summit Conference. NAM remains an important organization and given the increasingly complex international situation, the Ten Bandung Principles (enunciated in 1995) continue to be as relevant today. 

Today, we are faced with several challenges including armed conflicts in different parts of the world, food insecurity, migration, unemployment, health pandemics, climate change, and terrorism among the myriad of challenges. We also recognize challenges in financing for development and the issue of debt burden that paints a depressing global economic outlook. It is therefore crucial for us to address existing, new and emerging issues collectively and in the interest of our membership, for the good of mankind. Like I mentioned during the 60th anniversary of the first conference of the Non-Aligned countries held in Belgrade in October 2021, Uganda believes that multilateralism and solidarity are required much more than ever, for us to individually prepare and collectively responds to future challenges. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is therefore befitting that this year’s Summit will be held under the theme “Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence.” 

This is indeed a call for cooperation and collaboration within the NAM membership, and this will be emphasized in the outcome documents. I am happy to learn that Member State delegations have interacted with the Kampala Declaration, one of the outcome documents, with a lot of interest. The deliberations during your session will be important as you seek common ground on all issues. 

I look forward to seeing the results of this meeting. Lastly, I want to encourage you during the course of the Summit not to limit yourself to the conference venues and the city-Kampala, but also find time to explore other parts of the country to enjoy the beautiful flora and fauna, and indeed enjoy the hospitality of the Ugandan people. I now have the honor to officially open the Senior Official's Meeting. Thank you for your attention. 

FOR GOD AND MY COUNTRY