Sri Lanka thanks countries that helped in Geneva

 

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The Government of Sri Lanka extends its appreciation to all the countries that extended support to Sri Lanka in the UN Human Rights Council yesterday, 23 March 2017, for the adoption of Resolution A/HRC/34/1 titled ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’, by consensus.

We deeply appreciate the understanding shown by all, and support for Sri Lanka’s processes for promoting reconciliation, justice, and human rights, towards enduring peace and prosperity for all Sri Lankans.

 

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Consular Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs moves to new premises

03 02 2016 cons03

 

The Consular Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, presently at the BOI building, 3rd Floor at No.14, Sir Baron Jayathilake Mawatha in Fort, will be relocated to the Ceylinco Building, 2nd Floor, No. 69 Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 01 with effect from Monday, 6th February 2017.

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Sri Lanka opens a Resident Mission in Ethiopia

 

With a view to broadening political, trade and economic relations with Ethiopia and also forge closer relations with the African Union (AU) that is headquartered in Addis Ababa, the Government of Sri Lanka recently established a resident mission in Ethiopia. The Embassy is located at No. 875, Kebele 02, Bole Sub City, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Telephone: +251-11-6154-681, +251-11-8334-175; Facsimile: +251-11-6154-785; Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

 

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Statement by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP22) in Marrakesh

16 nov 2016 fm marrakesh


Statement by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, MP Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka High Level Segment of the 22ndSession of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22)

and 12th Session of the Conference of Parties serving as a Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol

16 November 2016, Marrakesh, Morocco
H.E. Salaheddine Mezouar, President of COP22 and CMP12
Executive Secretary of UNFCCC
Excellency’s
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and gentlemen

At the outset, let me convey my delegation’s appreciation to the Government and the people of the Kingdom of Morocco for hosting this important Conference and for the warm hospitality extended to us. Let me also convey the best wishes of my President H.E. Maithripala Sirisena.

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Resist the attempts of the tobacco industry to undermine tobacco control – President urges the world

7 nov 2016 fctc newdelhi


“Tobacco & alcohol control at top of my national agenda”

President Maithripala Sirisena urged the world community to resist the attempts of the tobacco industry to undermine tobacco control through litigation and interference in government policy-making.

“We know that the industry will try to influence policymakers in many ways, often support petitioners to challenge government legislation and persuade the mass media. This, to me, is a direct interference in the internal policy matters of any country. We need not have any compromise of any kind with the tobacco industry,” stated President Sirisena, delivering the Keynote Address at the Seventh Session of the Conference of Parties to the WHO Framework Convention  on Tobacco Control (FCTC) held in Noida, India, today (Nov.07).

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Economic environment to achieve sustainable development

pm parliament

Our development strategy is to trade successfully with the vibrant market in the Indian Ocean. In this venture, we intend to create a law-abiding economic environment in order to provide a platform for sustainable development. In the present context, Sri Lanka needs no governance, but a good regulation. Hon. Prime Minister said that through liberalization of the economy sustainability could be achieved.

Hon. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said this in the Parliament recently while making a special statement on the present status of the country’s economy, the way forward and future aspirations.

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MINE DETECTION DOG (MDD) TEAM OF THE SRI LANKA ARMY SELECTED AS 2016 TEAM OF THE YEAR

27 oct 2016 mine detection dog team award

At the Annual “Clearing the Path” Gala 2016 organized by The Marshall Legacy Institute (MLI) of Washington D.C., Mine Detection Dog (MDD) Alvin and its handler Lance Corporal Nawarathne of the Sri Lanka Army Engineers Humanitarian Demining Unit, were selected as the MDD team of the year.

The Marshall Legacy Institute, an organization dedicated to “removing landmines and promoting stability” has been assisting the Sri Lanka Army Humanitarian Demining Unit in their humanitarian effort to clear landmines and explosive devices from affected regions in Sri Lanka. Over the years, MLI has provided 26 Mine Detection Dogs and training with the assistance of private donors and the U.S. Department of State.

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“Sri Lanka wishes to see the Indian Ocean Rim Association move into a new era of dynamism”- Foreign Minister Samaraweera

27 oct 2016 iora group


Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera called for the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) to move into a new era of dynamism, when he addressed the 16th Council of Ministers Meeting (CoMM) of IORA held on 27th October 2016 in Bali, Indonesia.

In his address, the Foreign Minister stated that it was necessary for IORA and the members to take collective steps to ensure the security of the Indian Ocean, including the freedom of navigation, aviation and adherence to international law including UNCLOS, enhance scientific and academic cooperation amongst IORA members, protect, preserve and use ocean resources sustainably guided by international law and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, eenhance preparedness to deal with ocean based disasters and un-assessed impact of climate change on ocean weather, establish mechanism for development finance within IORA and expand and broad base IORA’s partners for more intense and meaningful cooperation.

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PM meets EU’s President

17 oct 2016 pm eu president brussels

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghes’s dedication and sacrifice to convert Sri Lanka into a democratic state which is dedicated to Good Governance is highly appreciated by the European Council, said President of the European Union Donald Tusk.

Meeting with the visiting Sri Lankan delegation led by PM Wickremesinghe on Monday (17th Oct.) at the EU headquarters in Brussels, he assured his fullest cooperation towards Sri Lanka as a special consideration to get GSP Plus back.

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BRICS - BIMSTEC Outreach Summit, 16 October 2016, Goa

17 oct 2016 bricsbimstec 1


President Maithripala Sirisena arrived in Goa on 15 October 2016 to participate at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) - BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical Cooperation) Outreach Summit. The President was met by the Minister of Labour of the State Government of Goa Shri Avertano Furtado and the Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shri M J Akbar and received a ceremonial welcome at the Naval Airport.

A retreat of India - BIMSTEC leaders was held prior to the BRICS - BIMSTEC Outreach Summit on 16 October. On the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leaders of BIMSTEC countries were invited for an interactive Summit with BRICS leaders. Highlighting that BRICS - BIMSTEC countries comprises nearly half of the world's population, the leaders at the outreach summit were unanimous in their commitment to jointly explore possibilities of expanding trade and commercial ties, and investment cooperation between BRICS and BIMSTEC countries, while advancing common goals of peace, development, democracy and prosperity.

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President holds bilateral discussions with Indian Premier

16 oct 2016 meeting indian pm

President Maithripala Sirisena who is in India to participate in the BRICS Outreach Summit held bilateral discussion with the Indian Premier Narendra Modi at the Taj Exotica Hotel in Goa on Oct. 16.

Prime Minister Modi who warmly welcomed President Sirisena stated that the President’s participation at the BRICS Outreach Summit is a great strength for him, for India and also for the entire BIMSTEC region.

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Remarks by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs Launch of Civil Society Network Joint Alternative Report to the Committee Against Torture

13 oct 2016 hom mfa ngo meeting

Remarks by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs 
Launch of Civil Society Network Joint Alternative Report 
to the Committee Against Torture 
Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute (LKIIRS), 13 October 2016

අශෝක් ස්ටීවන් පූජකතුමනි, රයිට් ටු ලයිෆ් සංවිධානයේ ෆිලිප් දිසානායක මහතා ප්‍රමුඛ මූලාසනයේ සිටින මහත්ම මහත්මයාණෙනි, ඒ වගේම බ්‍රිටෝ ප්‍රනාන්දු මැතිතුමනි, සම්භාවනීය අමුත්තනි, මිත්‍රවරුනි,

අද රාජ්‍ය නොවන සංවිධාන එක්මුතව විසින් සංවිධානය කරන ලද මෙම ඉතාමත්ම කාලෝචිත වැදගත් සම්මන්ත්‍රනයට මටත් ආරාධනා කිරීම ගැනත්, වචන කීපයක් කථා කරන්න ලැබීම ගැනත් මම ඉතාමත්ම සතුටු වෙනවා.

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Joint Statement by New Zealand and Sri Lanka on the Occasion of the Official Visit to New Zealand by the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka: 1-3 October 2016

3 oct 2016 hon pm visit newzeland

Joint Statement by New Zealand and Sri Lanka
on the Occasion of the Official Visit to New Zealand by
the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe,
1-3 October 2016

At the invitation of Rt. Hon John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand, Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is paying an official visit to New Zealand from 1-3 October 2016, accompanied by Hon. Sagala Ratnayaka, Minister of Law and Order and Southern Development; Hon. Harin Fernando, Minister of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure; Hon. Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, State Minister of City Planning and Water Supply; and Hon. Dr. Harsha de Silva, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs.

2 Prime Minister Wickremesinghe’s visit reciprocates a visit by Prime Minister Key to Sri Lanka in February 2016. The two Prime Ministers released this joint statement following official talks at Government House on 1 October in Auckland.

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Pledging Conference for the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund New York, 21st September 2016

21 sep 2016 peace building conference

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera chairs the Invest in Sustaining Peace - Pledging Conference for the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund at the UN Head Quarters in New York on 21 September 2016. Seated with him is UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson (R )
 
Sri Lanka co-hosted a Pledging Conference to Refinance the Secretary General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF).held on 21st September 2016 at the UN Headquarters in New York on the sidelines of the 71st sessions of the United Nations General Assembly.Sri Lanka together with Kenya, Mexico, The Netherlands, Somalia, Sweden, Republic of Korea and the United Kingdom co- hosted the event. The conference was able to generate pledges from thirty countries amounting to a sum of US Dollars 152 million to support UN peacebuilding efforts across the globe. Foreign Minister Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, chaired one segement of the conference and delivered closing remarks on behalf of the co hosts. In his national statement delivered at the conference Hon. Mangala Samaraweera said that since the creation of the Fund in 2006, it had come to the assistance of many countries emerging from conflict. Sri Lanka, he noted, has been working closely with the Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) since the Presidential Elections of January 2015, when the Government prioritized reconciliation and development as twin agendas to be pursued in guiding the nation towards durable peace. He pointed out that last year, Sri Lanka was declared by the UN Secretary-General as a country eligible to receive support from the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund. In his closing remarks on behalf of the co hosts, Minister Samaraweera said that due to the cooperation of member states, the Fund will be able to continue to support critical projects in countries emerging from years of violent conflict, like Colombia, and in other countries where peace is fragile and needs to be sustained, such as in Mali, Somalia and Sri Lanka. “We are also emboldened by the fact that so many of you pledged, making the Peacebuilding Fund one of the most broadly supported funds in the UN system, “ the Minister further said.
 

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Address by President Maithripala Sirisena at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly

21 sep 2016 unga president

ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති අතිගරු මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මැතිතුමන් විසින් එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මහා මණ්ඩලයේ 71 වැනි සැසිවාරය අමතා කරන ලද කථාව
2016 සැප්තැම්බර් මස 21 වැනිදා

සුබ සන්ධ්‍යාවක් !
ඔබ සියලු දෙනාටම තෙරුවන් සරණයි!
ආයුබෝවන්!
වනක්කම් !
අස්ලාම් අලෙයිකුම්!

එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ 71 වැනි සමුළුවට, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජනාධිපතිවරයා විදිහට සහභාගී වීමට ලැබීම මා ඉතාමත්ම සතුටට පත්වෙන අවස්ථාවක්. ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ නව පරිවර්තනීය යුගයක් ආරම්භ කරමින් ගෙවීගිය මාස විස්සක පමණ කාල සීමාව, අවශ්‍ය දේශපාලන, ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිසංස්කරණ සඳහා අපි මූලිකත්වය දී තිබෙනවා. විශේෂයෙන්ම, මගේ රජය බලයට පත්වීමට පෙර, ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ තිබූ බියෙන් සහ සැකයෙන් ජීවත්වීමේ සමාජ පසුබිම ඉවත් කරමින්, සතුටින්, නිදහසේ, ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී සමාජයක ජීවත්වන ජනතාවක් සඳහා අවශ්‍ය මූලික පදනම සකස් කරමින්, ඒ කටයුතු ශක්තිමත් කර තිබෙනවා. මගේ රජයේ අරමුණ, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජීවත්වන සියලු ජනතාව, ලෝකයේ ඉතාමත්ම සතුටින් ජීවත්වන රටවල් අතරින් එක් රටක් බවට පත් කිරීමයි. ඒ නිසා නිදහස් ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය තහවුරු කිරීමත්, ආර්ථික සමෘද්ධිය ඇති කිරීමත් තුළ, ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් ලෝකයේ ශක්තිමත් ප්‍රබුද්ධ ජනතාවක් බවට පත් කිරීම මගේ රජයේ ප්‍රධාන අරමුණක් සහ අභිප්‍රායක්. ඒ වගේම දුගී භාවය අද මුලු ලෝකය පුරාම තිබෙන බරපතල අභියෝගයක් බැවින් 2017 ලබන වර්ෂය, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ දුගීභාවයෙන් නිදහස් වීමේ වර්ෂය ලෙස නම් කර තිබෙනවා. ආර්ථික සංවර්ධනය මුල් කරගත් රටක, ජනතාවගේ සියලු ප්‍රශ්න විසඳීම සඳහා අවශ්‍ය මූලික පහසුකම් සකස් කිරීමේ කාර්යයට, ඒ අනුව මා ප්‍රමුඛත්වය දී තිබෙනවා.

ප්‍රධාන වශයෙන් එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ සංවිධානයත්, ඒ වගේම, අනෙකුත් සියලු ආයතනික රාජ්‍යයන් විසින් කටයුතු කිරීමේදී, ගරු සභාපතිතුමනි, ඒ වගේම ගෞරවනීය රාජ්‍ය නායකයනි, නෝනාවරුනි, මහත්වරුනි, අප සැමවිටම කැපවී සිටින්නේ, තිරසර සංවර්ධනය ප්‍රමුඛතාවයේ ලා සමාජයට, රටට අවශ්‍ය වෙනස්කම් ඉටු කිරීමටයි. එහිදී, මූලික වශයෙන්ම, අවශ්‍ය ආර්ථික ජයග්‍රහණ ලබා ගැනීමට ප්‍රමුඛත්වයක් සැමවිටම අපි දී තිබෙනවා. පරිසර සංරක්ෂණය, ඒ වගේම, එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මහ ලේකම් බැන් කී-මූන් මැතිතුමා විසින් හඳුන්වා දෙනු ලැබූ පැරිස් සමුළුව ඇති කරගත් ප්‍රඥප්තීන් තුළ කටයුතු කරමින්, ප්‍රධාන ලෙසම, අපිට අවශ්‍ය මූලික වෙනස්කම් සමග රටේ පරිවර්තනීය යුගය සියලු අංශවල වෙනස්කම් කිරීමටයි අපි බලාපොරොත්තු වෙන්නේ. උගත් තරුණ පරපුර වෙනුවෙන්, දැනුම පාදක කරගත් ආර්ථික සංවර්ධන සහ ආර්ථික ප්‍රතිපත්ති සමග නව උත්පාදන ආර්ථිකය, ඒ වගේම හරිත ආර්ථිකය සමග නව සැලසුම් ශ්‍රී ලාංකීය සමාජය තුළ ඉලක්ක කරගත් ජාතික සංවර්ධනයේ ප්‍රමුඛතාවයන් බවට පත් කිරීමට මා කටයුතු කරනවා.

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Sri Lanka Statement by Special Envoy of President at XVII NAM Summit

18 sep 2015 gosl nam statement

XVII Summit of the Heads of State and Government
of the Non Aligned Movement

Statement by Hon. Mahinda Samarasinghe
Minister of Skills Development and Vocational Training &
Special Envoy of President Maithripala Sirisena
Margarita Island, Venezuela. 18 September 2016

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Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera represents Sri Lanka at the Our Ocean Conference 2016

15 sep 2016 ocean-statement hon mfa

Participating at the Our Ocean Conference 2016, at the invitation of the US Secretary of State John Kerry, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, on 15 September,  outlined several commitments by Sri Lanka to protect oceans around Sri Lanka and beyond.

The Minister said that Sri Lanka is perhaps one of the few countries in the world where the Head of State himself holds the portfolio of Environment, given its vital importance for the country and to ensure that Sri Lanka plays its part in dealing with issues relating to climate change and environment in a responsible manner, both locally and in a global context. 

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Statement by the Government of Sri Lanka regarding the nuclear test conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

The Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka condemns the nuclear test carried out by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on 9th September 2016. Sri Lanka notes with concern that this is the second such test to be carried out by the DPRK this year.

Sri Lanka calls upon the DPRK to abide by its international obligations and refrain from any action which would compromise peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula.

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Ministry of Science and Technology prepares proposals for a Central Institute of Science and Technology

8 sep 2016 honpm stc forum


Ministry of National Policy and Economic Affairs together with the Ministry of Science, Technology and Research, will prepare proposals for a Central Institute of Science and Technology, said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe delivering the welcome address at the STS forum yesterday in Colombo.

Our Universities and Research Centers will have the opportunity of being affiliated with the CIST. Furthermore our national policy is based on the expansion of science and technology education in the school system and the universities, the strengthening of research development of private and public sectors. This calls for more Science and Technology Teachers and Academics. The concerned Ministries are now addressing their minds to preparing a report as the first step, said the Prime Minister.

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Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera reaffirms commitment to further advancing bilateral ties during visit to the Republic of Slovenia

9 sep 2016 hon mfa slovenia

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera visited the Republic of Slovenia from 4-8 September on the invitation of Hon Karl Erjavec, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia to attend the 11th Bled Strategic Forum 2016. During the visit, Minister Samaraweera met with President Borut Pahor, Prime Minister Miro Cerar, Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec and Minister of Economic Development and Technology Zdravko Počivalšek and reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to strengthening and consolidating the longstanding relations between Sri Lanka and Slovenia and identifying new areas of cooperation between the two countries.
 
Speaking at the Bled Strategic Forum at the panel discussion on “Human Security: You and I Matter”, Minister Samaraweera outlined Sri Lanka’s experience of a protracted conflict and the efforts of the Government of Sri Lanka to move in a new direction based on the three pillars of democratization, reconciliation and economic development.
 

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Representations called from the public on HR action plan

crest-srilanka

The Inter-Ministerial Committee, established by the Cabinet of Ministers, to develop a national human rights action plan for 2017-2021, has decided to call for observations or views from all stakeholders, including civil society and interested organisations on the drafting of the new five year human rights action plan.
 
As directed by the Cabinet of Ministers, the draft action plan thus developed would be considered by the Cabinet by the end of October 2016.
 

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Opportunities are there waiting to be exploited-Premier Wickremesinghe

1 sep 2016 pm singapore

Indian Ocean has emerged as one of the world’s busiest and most critical trade corridors, rapidly surpassing the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Covering a vast global expanse - extending to East Africa in the West, Australia in the East, South Africa in the South, the Indian Ocean is well poised to regain its influence in world politics and the global economy said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe making the inaugural address at the Indian Ocean Conference themed Global Power Transition and the Indian Ocean in Singapore.

The Indian Ocean Region has always been a significant playing field for big powers. Historically it has also been a bridge between the East and West.  

Today the region is acquiring an intrinsic significance of its own. The Atlantic basin is declining. Central Asia and Africa have yet to evolve into mature political economies. The Middle East is in turmoil and Latin America is also undergoing a somewhat troubled growth. The Pacific basin - particularly the Eastern Pacific is very dynamic but it has its own latent instabilities such as the South China Sea and East China Sea disputes, developments in North Korea, increasing militarization of disputes and the absence as yet of regional institutions to bring coherence to the political economy of the area. So it is possible to argue that the Indian Ocean Region has an extraordinary opportunity to create something new in the global context and something historically uniquely beneficial to its people, said the Prime Minister.

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Introductory Remarks by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera to Address by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

1 sep 2016 unsg hon mfa

Introductory Remarks by
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, MP.,
to Address by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
organized by the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute
Colombo, 1 September 2016

 

His Excellency Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Madam Ban Soon-taek
Excellencies
Ladies and Gentlemen

The first Prime Minister of Sri Lanka to address the UN General Assembly since Sri Lanka was granted membership in the United Nations in 1955, Hon. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, articulated our intentions as a member of the UN, as follows:

“This is an Organisation which expresses itself most effectively by bringing to bear a certain moral force – the collective moral force and decency of human beings. That is a task in which the weak as well as the strong can render a useful service, and I give the assembly the assurance, on behalf of my country, that as far as we are concerned, every endeavour that we can make in all sincerity to assist in the achievements of those noble ideas for which this Organisation stands, will always be forthcoming in the fullest measure.”

 

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UNSG Ban Ki-moon holds talks with the President

01 sep 2016 president un sg moon

The Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon held talks with President Maithripala Sirisena at the President’s House in Colombo today (September 1). The two leaders discussed about the ongoing development programmes, the progress of the programmes being implemented to strengthen reconciliation and the process of constitutional reforms.
 
President briefed the visiting UN Secretary General about the steps taken by the government with regard to constitutional reforms, devolution and structural reforms. He explained the steps taken by the government for resettlement and rehabilitation, release of land to the original owners and livelihood development.
 

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Director-General Visits World Heritage Sites in Sri Lanka’s Cultural Triangle

16 aug 2016 unesco dg visit sl

The Director-General began her first official visit to Sri Lanka on 14 August 2016 with a circuit around the “cultural triangle”, home to several of the country’s eight World Heritage Sites.

Accompanied by the Minister of Education, the Honourable Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, Chairperson of the National Commission for UNESCO, she visited the  Ancient City of Polonnaruwa and the Rock Fortress of Sigiriya, followed by Kandy's Dalada Maligawa temple, where she viewed the Sacred Tooth of the Buddha relic shrine in the presence of its Custodian and the Chief Minister of the Central Province.
 

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Introductory Remarks by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera for the Keynote Address by Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova

16 aug 2016 hon mfa dgunesco visit

Introductory Remarks by
 
Mangala Samaraweera, MP., Minister of Foreign Affairs  
for the Keynote Address  by  Mme. Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO  
16th August 2016
 
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
I feel most honored today to have the opportunity of introducing to you Mme. Irina Bokova, the Director General of UNESCO, who has so generously accepted our invitation to deliver this Keynote Lecture at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies. Thank you Mme. Bokova, we warmly welcome you to Sri Lanka, and to this Institute. 

Madam Bokova’s keynote speech today will be on the very timely and interesting topic of “Soft Power for peace and development: UNESCO and the Sustainable Development Goals”. 
 

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