Our first task in our rise to be among the great nations of the world, is to ensure lasting national unity and sustainable, permanent peace in our motherland, stated President Mahinda Rajapaksa after the swearing in of his second term of office today (19 Nov) at the Presidential Secretariat.

Out policy is one of non-alignment, he said adding, ‘we do not have enemy states or such groups or blocs. During the last era, we worked with many nations in agreement and friendship for national security. We now step into the development era. We extend our hand of friendship to those who assist us in this endeavour’.  

We have the inherited wisdom to tolerate all opinion and take mature decisions. We have a tradition of understanding our problems and conflicts and finding solutions for them, he further stated.

‘We are not a miniature of a developed country. We are Sri Lanka. Our motherland is Sri Lanka’.

Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 9th Asia Co-operation Dialogue in Tehran, with H.E. Dr. Mohammad Sabah Alsalem Alsabah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait. 

The Ministers noted that 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Kuwait, and discussed modalities for deepening bilateral relations, with the advent of durable peace in Sri Lanka.

Professor G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs and Dr. Mehdi Ghazanfari, Minister of Commerce of the Islamic Republic of Iran, had detailed consultations in Tehran on Monday with regard to significantly expanded economic co-operation between the two countries.

Prof. Peiris expressed appreciation for the generous assistance given by the Government of Iran for socio-economic development in Sri Lanka following the visit by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Sri Lanka in April 2008. He said that the Uma Oya and the Rural Electrification Projects are now in progress.  

May the light of goodwill and peace of Deepavali lead our people to the joy of enlightened harmony, stated President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a message for Deepavali. 

Celebrated by Hindus the world over, Deepavali is a celebration of the spiritual richness of people as it marks the progress that humans have made in the constant struggle for a better life in keeping with the great spiritual values of Hinduism, the President added. 

Following is the full message:

A Cabinet Paper submitted by Minister of External Affairs, Prof. G. L. Peiris establishing an Inter-Agency Advisory Committee to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations in the Interim Communication of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC), was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on 27.10.2010.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has written to His Majesty the King of Saudi Arabia, appealing for clemency with respect to the Sri Lanka national Ms. Rizana Nafeek, who was convicted and is facing execution as an outcome of the case related to the death of an infant entrusted to her care.

It may be recalled that Ms. Rizana Nafeek had arrived from Sri Lanka in Saudi Arabia in April 2005. The unfortunate death of the child took place a month later in May that year. The Sri Lanka authorities, as well as several well-wishers have been involved in observing the case and facilitating her in coping with her legal issues.

A cross party delegation from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) – UK Branch , which was in Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Parliament of Sri Lanka said that the progress made by the Government on the resettlement of the internally displaced people in the North and the East was “remarkable”. This was conveyed during an interaction the delegation had with Minister of External Affairs Prof. G. L. Peiris, on 22nd October 2010.

Recalling age-old, time-tested UK - Sri Lanka friendship Acting Minister invites more investment from the UK

Recalling the age-old, time-tested friendship with the UK, Acting Minister of External Affairs Gitanjana Gunawardena invited a cross party delegation from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) – UK Branch to encourage more investment from the UK to Sri Lanka, especially the North and the East. The Acting Minister made these comments when the delegation, which is currently undertaking a visit to Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Sri Lanka Parliament, called on the Acting Minister at the External Affairs Ministry on 18th October.

The attention of the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) is drawn to the joint letter addressed by the International Crisis Group (ICG), Amnesty International (AI) and Human Rights Watch (HRW) on 14 October 2010, to the Secretary of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC).

It is observed that the joint letter contains a series of unsubstantiated allegations against the GoSL on a wide range of issues, including matters unrelated to the purview of the Commission. This, as well as the unusual decision of the three Organisations to release the joint letter to the public, is demonstrative of a broader targeted agenda against the GoSL.

The Third Session of the Senior Officials’ Meeting of the Sri Lanka – South Africa Partnership Forum was concluded on the 12^th October 2010 at the Cinnamon Lakeside in Colombo.  Mr. Romesh Jayasinghe, Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs led the Sri Lanka delegation while the South African delegation was led by Ambassador S. Ngombane, Deputy Director-General for Asia and Middle East of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa.

External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, having travelled to Delhi to accompany President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games and for the bilateral discussions with the Indian Prime Minister, used the opportunity to also meet with several other senior Indian Government personalities.

On the morning of 14th October, Minister Peiris met with his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, for a very cordial and constructive review of bilateral relations. The discussion between the two Ministers served as a curtain raiser to the forthcoming session of the India – Sri Lanka Joint Commission that will take place, when Minister Krishna visits Sri Lanka later this year.

Minister of External Affairs Prof. G. L. Peiris met his Indian counterpart Mr. S. M. Krishna in New Delhi this afternoon. The two Ministers held discussions on the visit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India and his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other bilateral issues during the luncheon meeting. The Foreign Secretaries of the two countries, Mr Romesh Jayasinghe and Ms Nirupama Rao and two High Commissioners Mr Prasad Kariyawasam and Ashok Kantha were also present during the discussions.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been invited to attend the Closing Ceremony, as an Honored Guest, on 14th October, of the Commonwealth Games that are at present underway in New Delhi. While he is in New Delhi, President Rajapaksa will also have bilateral discussions with the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.

External Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris continued with his bilateral discussions in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly and met on 28^th September with his Brazilian counterpart, Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.  Minister Peiris expressed the appreciation of Sri Lanka for the firm stance taken by Brazil towards the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka.  He also thanked for the generous donation by Brazil for UNHCR relief operations in Sri Lanka. 

‘International Humanitarian Law should reflect reality of non-state actors in conflicts’ 

The entire focus of our nation, is now on building a lasting peace; healing wounds, ensuring economic prosperity and guaranteeing the rights of the whole nation to live in harmony, stated President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York today (Sep 23). 

We are pursuing a nation-wide agenda of renewal. Sri Lanka has already returned over 90% of the internally displaced persons to their original villages that were previously riddled with landmines, he further said.  

The Governor of the Yunnan Province, Qin Guangrong conveyed China’s support to the economic development process in Sri Lanka, with investment and association with major economic infrastructure projects in the country, when he called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 2^nd September 2010.

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao called on Minister of External Affairs Prof. G L Peiris on Wednesday (02nd September). 

Several bi-lateral issues such Indian assistance for development work in the North and matters relating to investment, trade and foreign relations were discussed at this meeting.

All foreign passport holders (regardless of whether they are of Sri Lankan origin) who wish to travel to the Northern Sri Lanka are required to obtain prior approval from the Ministry of Defence. 

Requests for authorization of such visits should are to be submitted directly to the Ministry of Defence with the following information:

We are aware that some countries being battered by terrorism have taken strength from the victories won by Sri Lanka over terrorism. It is time for the countries facing attacks from terrorism to look back and see where they had gone wrong, whereas Sri Lanka has succeeded, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his address to the Nation on the Victory Day celebrations at Galle Face, Colombo today.

It is a grave error of judgment to think that while being opposed to terrorism targeting you, to believe that terrorism that is no threat to you is good…The world has so far trod on this wrong path. Terrorism remains unvanquished because of this incorrect thinking. The countries that show sympathy towards terrorism and separatism will be the victims of terrorism. This is the lesson of history, President Rajapaksa further said. 

Among the highlights of the President’s address are:

International Labour Organization 99th Session of the International Labour Conference address by Hon Gamini Lokuge Minister of Labour Relations and Productivity Promotions Sri Lanka on 10th June 2010 Geneva 

Mr. President

On behalf of the government and the delegation of Sri Lanka, let me congratulate you and the Vice Presidents on your election to preside over the 99th session of the International Labour Conference.  

We are meeting again one year after adopting the historic Global Jobs Pact which provided a framework and a resource of practical policies for the multilateral system, governments, workers and employers to recover from the crisis. I believe, it is timely to review the progress made in the implementation of the Global Jobs Pact. In this context, I commend the Report of the Director General entitled “Recovering and Growth with Decent Work”, and value highlighting the areas to be focused on crisis response and the way forward to a more stronger, more sustainable and equitable development.