International Affairs

Minister of State for the Commonwealth, UN and South Asia and Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon visited Sri Lanka on 1-2 October.

Lord Tariq Ahmed of Wimbledon, British Minister of State for Commonwealth, UN and South Asia, currently visiting Sri Lanka, has commended the efforts taken by the Government to strengthen the process of reconciliation amidst the severe challenge posed by the terrorist attacks on Easter Sunday.

Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha on Thursday welcomed the proposal for the readmission of the Maldives to the Commonwealth family, reiterating that Sri Lanka fully supports the fast track procedure previously applied in the readmission of Gambia, to allow the Maldives to participate fully at CHOGM 2020 in Rwanda.

Fourteen new Ambassadors and High Commissioners concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka presented their credentials to President Maithripala Sirisena at the President’s House in Colombo yesterday.

Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha, who is presently leading the Sri Lanka delegation to the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly, met with Office of Counterterrorism (OCT) Under-Secretary General Vladimir Voronkov and his team, and Counterterrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) Assistant Secretary General (ASG) and Executive Director Michéle Coninsx on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week. Ambassador Kshenuka Senewiratne, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and other senior officials were associated with the Foreign Secretary.

High Commissioner (HC) of Malaysia, Tan Yan Thai, paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samarawickrama along with Malaysian officials from Malaysia External Development Corporation and Malaysian Investment Development Authority(MIDA).

A massive investment worth $ 20 billion for a mega refinery project in Hambantota by a Singapore firm has been approved by the Cabinet.

මෙරට අමෙරිකානු නියෝජ්‍ය තානාපති මාටින් ඩී කේලි සහ ලංකා කම්කරු කොග්‍රසයේ නායක නුවරඑළිය දිස්ත්‍රික් පාර්ලිමේන්තු මන්ත්‍රි ආරුමුගන් තොණ්ඩමන් අතර විශේෂ සකාච්ඡාවක් ඊයේ (01) පස්වරුවේ නුවරඑළිය ගොල්ෆ් ක්‍රිඩාංගණ සමාජ ශාලාවේදී පවත්වා තිබෙනවා.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) agreement is currently a topic of contention in the public domain. Misinformation is widespread, and many valid concerns about the agreement have gone with the wind.

එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ සංවිධානයේ 58 වැනි සේනාංකය යුද අපරාධ සිදුකළ බවට වරදකරු කර ඇත.

Few countries can qualitatively match the troops sent by Sri Lanka who have extensive professional experience in all aspects of peacekeeping and providing humanitarian assistance, Sri Lanka told the UN on Monday.

The World Bank has urged Sri Lanka to invest in human capital in preparing for a new emerging world and gain success in today’s rapidly evolving knowledge economy.

UK Minister of State (Minister for the Commonwealth, the UN and South Asia) and Prime Minister’s Special Representative on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon had talks in Sri Lanka with politicians, civil society and others.

India says bilateral relations between India and Sri Lanka have seen many positive developments in recent times.

Only 25% of the troops from Sri Lanka, presently engaged in peacekeeping operations, would be replaced, when they complete their term in Lebanon, United Nations Department of Peace Operations Under Secretary General Mr Jean-Pierre Lacroix has told Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha, a media release said.

In order to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, known in India as the “Father of the Nation”, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe together with Indian High Commissioner to Colombo Taranjit Singh Sandhu unveiled a statue of Gandhi at the Temple Trees premises yesterday.

The Chinese Embassy on Monday marked 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic. President Maithripala Sirisena visited the celebrations and is here seen with China's Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan.

The United Nations (UN) has clarified its role in Sri Lanka after it was accused of being biased and supporting some Presidential candidates.