Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Kazuyuki Nakane visited Sri Lanka from 28 -30 August 2018. State Minister Nakane participated in the commissioning ceremony of the two coast guard patrol vessels donated by Japan to Sri Lanka at the Port of Colombo on 29 August.

During the visit, State Minister Nakane called on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs Lakshman Kiriella, and also met with Minister of Plantation Industries Navin Dissanayke and the Secretary to the President Udaya R. Seneviratne.

The two coast guard patrol vessels, "SLCGS Samudra  Raksha"  and "SLCGS Samaraksha" were donated to Sri Lanka by Japan as part of the Grant Agreement signed between Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Government of Sri Lanka, based on the joint declaration on the comprehensive partnership between the two countries.  These patrol vessels will add to the capacity of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard in its activities related to maritime safety, maritime law enforcement, Search and Rescue (SAR), mitigation of disaster risks, and environment protection.

The State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan briefed the Prime Minister and the Acting Foreign Minister on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Partnerships Initiative of the G-7, where each G-7 Member State selects a partner country to provide targeted assistance to advance the Women, Peace and Security Agenda through enhanced G-7 coordination, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions.  Japan has selected Sri Lanka as its partner country under this initiative to support Sri Lanka's WPS Agenda. The initiative is based on the recognition that gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls and respect for their human rights are vital to achieving and sustaining peace. Sri Lanka's appreciation for Japan's assistance under this programme was conveyed to State Minister Nakane.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

 30 August 2018

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Your Excellency, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Foreign Minister of Nepal & Chair of the BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

At the outset, I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the Foreign Minister and the Government of Nepal for the warm welcome and gracious hospitality extended to me and my delegation since our arrival in the Himalayan city of Kathmandu.  I also wish to congratulate our host nation on the excellent arrangements made to ensure that this Ministerial Meeting and Summit is a resounding success.

Permit me, to felicitate you Mr Chairman for efficiently guiding BIMSTEC since assuming the Chair.  I am confident, that under your able guidance we will have a fruitful meeting. I also wish to appreciate the work of the Senior Officials for drafting an ambitious declaration, which Sri Lanka, as the next Chair looks forward to operationalise.

I am pleased to acknowledge that BIMSTEC has made significant strides in increasing cooperation among nations in the Bay of Bengal region. The key characteristic of our Organization has been the existing together of the ‘Look West’ policy of the ASEAN nations and the ‘Look East’ policy of their South Asian counterparts, thereby bridging two of the most dynamic regions in the world.  I see a considerable number of complementarities in our economies and numerous opportunities for cooperation.

Read more: Statement by Hon Vasantha Senanayake, MP, State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka at the 16th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, 29 August 2018, Kathmandu

President Maithripala Sirisena will lead the Sri Lanka Delegation to the 4^th Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), which will be held from 30-31 August 2018 in Kathmandu.  At the conclusion of the Summit, the Chairmanship of BIMSTEC will be handed over to Sri Lanka by the current Chair, Nepal.

The Summit, which also includes a retreat of the participating Heads of State and Government will be preceded by the Sixteenth BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting and the Nineteenth Session of the BIMSTEC Senior Officials’ Meeting.

The Presidents of Sri Lanka and Myanmar, the Prime Ministers of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Thailand, and the Chief Advisor of the Government of Bhutan will be leading their respective delegations to the Summit. The leaders are to adopt the 4^th BIMSTEC Summit Declaration: "Towards a Peaceful, Prosperous and Sustainable Bay of Bengal Region" on 31 August at the conclusion of the Summit.

The leaders will also witness the signing of the " Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the BIMSTEC Grid Inter-Connection" at the Summit.

During the preceding meetings, several initiatives under agreed priority sectors will be reviewed with a view to enhancing inclusive growth and economic prosperity in the BIMSTEC region.   The priority sectors of cooperation in BIMSTEC include, Trade and Investment, Technology, Energy, Transportation & Communication, Tourism, Fisheries, Agriculture, Cultural Cooperation, Environment & Disaster Management, Public Health, People to People Contact, Poverty Alleviation, Counter-Terrorism & Transnational Crimes, and Climate Change.

The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), launched in 1997, bridges countries of South and South East Asia in the Bay of Bengal region. The Bay of Bengal region is home to 21 %  of the global population with an average GDP growth of 6.5%.

Sri Lanka is the lead country for the Technology sector, where the establishment of a BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF) in Sri Lanka is under consideration. This Facility seeks to expand the technology base of Member States through collaboration and partnerships targeted towards micro, small and medium scale enterprises.

The 3^rd BIMSTEC Summit was held in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in 2014, and a BIMSTEC leaders' retreat and the BRICS & BIMSTEC outreach Summit was held in Goa, India in 2016.

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake, and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Kathmandu will also participate in Summit related meetings.

During his stay in Nepal, President Maithripala Sirisena will be meeting his Nepali counterpart President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and the Prime Minister of Nepal Khadga Prasad Oli on 01 September. The President will also attend a Banquet hosted by the President of Nepal in his honour.

President Sirisena will be visiting Lumbini on 01 September, and on 02 September, he is scheduled to visit the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu and attend a tree planting ceremony there.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

 28 August 2018

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As part of Sri Lanka’s 70^th Anniversary of Independence celebrations, the Canada-Sri Lanka Friendship Cricket Cup (CSLFCC), jointly organized by the Sri Lanka Consulate General in Toronto and the Ontario Cricket Development Organization (OCDO), was launched on 11 August 2018 at the Courtney Park Sports Complex in Mississauga. The annual event is intended to bring together cricket loving communities from Sri Lanka and other countries. The agreement to hold this annual event was arrived at a meeting attended by Mayor of Mississauga, Bonnie Crombie, Consul General of Sri Lanka in Toronto, U. L. Mohammed Jauhar, and Messrs. Derek Perera and Ranil Mendis, held on 01 May 2018 at the Mississauga Civic Centre.

Welcoming the initiative of the Consulate General and the OCDO, the Mississauga Mayor said: "Our residents love cricket! Mississauga proudly operates seven cricket pitches across the City, and the popularity of this sport only continues to grow amongst our residents. We are pleased to support the Consulate General of Sri Lanka and Ontario Cricket Development Organization as they showcase cricket in Mississauga through the celebration of Sri Lanka's 70th Anniversary of Independence"

Read more: Canada-Sri Lanka Friendship Cricket Cup Launched in Toronto

With a view to expanding the document attestation services provided through the Electronic Document Attestation System (e-DAS) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Divisional Secretariat level, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministries of Foreign and Home Affairs on 16 August 2018.

Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Prasad Kariyawasam and Secretary to the Ministry of Home Affairs S.T. Kodikara signed the MoU in the presence of Minister of Home Affairs Vajira Abeywardena, during the Government Agents' Conference held at the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA).

The MoU will enable the expansion of the Electronic Document Attestation System to Divisional Secretariats initially  as a pilot project at the 19 Divisional Secretariats in the Galle District. The expectation is to extend the facility to all 332 Divisional Secretariats island-wide subsequently.

Connecting the Divisional Secretariats island-wide to the Electronic Document Attestation System will allow the general public to have their  required documentation processed at the nearest Divisional Secretariat, without visiting  the Consular Affairs Division in Colombo. People in the Northern Province who currently visit  the Regional Consular Office in Jaffna for this purpose too would be able to have document attestation done through their nearest Divisional Secretariats instead of the Regional Consular Office. For the pilot project, the Canadian Government has donated equipment worth Rs. 6.8 million through the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena thanked the Canadian Government for the donation of equipment to implement the pilot project, and requested all Government Agents to extend their support to have the Electronic Document Attestation System implemented at the Divisional Secretariats in all Districts.

In his remarks, Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Prasad Kariyawasam observed that the functioning of the Electronic Document Attestation System at the Divisional Secretariat level would effectively serve the community of migrant workers who annually remit a substantial amount of foreign exchange to the country.

This initiative is part of the endeavours of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to streamline, decentralize and improve Consular service delivery to the public through digitalization.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

17 August 2018

Sri Lanka was unanimously accepted as a Member of the Conference on Interactions and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on 15 August 2018, by its 26 Member States. At a ceremony held in Beijing on 15 August, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the People’s Republic of China, Dr. Karunasena Kodithuwakku signed the Declaration of Principles Guiding Relations among the CICA Members States and the Almaty Act, the two mandatory documents that a new Member State is required to sign to obtain full membership.

Established in 1992, the CICA is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia, which focuses on confidence building measures. Sri Lanka has been an Observer State of the CICA since 2012.

The membership of the CICA would further enhance Sri Lanka’s bilateral, economic and trade cooperation as well as people to people contacts with other CICA Member States.

The Member States of the CICA include Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.

The current Chair of the CICA is China and the Secretariat of the Conference is located in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

17 August 2018

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