Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

Statement by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs following bilateral talks with H.E. Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China on 8th July 2016 in Colombo.

Remarks

Good evening ladies and gentlemen,

It has been an honour and a great privilege to welcome to Sri Lanka the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, H.E. Wang Yi. The visit is significant as it is the first high level visit and the first visit by a Foreign Minister of China, following the formation of the National Unity Government in Sri Lanka.

Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama concludes successful visit to India

Minister of Development Strategies & International Trade Malik Samarawickrama visited New Delhi from July 4-5, 2016 on the invitation of the Minister of Commerce and Industry of India Nirmala Sitharaman. He also held consultations with Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha. In addition, he met a representative group of CEOs of leading Indian companies.

Agreement on exemption of visas for Diplomatic & Official Passports signed between Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan

H.E. Bulat Sarasenbayev, Ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan resident in New Delhi met with Mrs. Chitranganee Wagiswara, Secretary of Foreign Affairs on 4^th July, to discuss matters of bilateral cooperation between Sri Lanka and Kazakhstan.

Statement by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera to the 32nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council

FM-32HRC1

Statement by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, MP,

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka

32^nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council

Geneva, 29 June 2016

Mr. President

High Commissioner for Human Rights

Excellencies

Distinguished delegates

At the 30^th Session of this Council last October, Sri Lanka, by co-sponsoring the Resolution 30/1, ‘Promoting Reconciliation and Accountability in Sri Lanka’, broke away from the years of disengagement, self-isolation, and confrontation that preceded the election of President Maithripala Sirisena in January 2015

Foreign Minister Samaraweera signs three Agreements with Ukraine

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera paid an official visit to Ukraine on 25 June 2016 at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin.

During the visit, the two Ministers discussed a series of issues of bilateral importance. Minister Samaraweera reiterated that Sri Lanka is committed to further strengthening and renewing the long standing relationship with Ukraine. He recalled with appreciation the invaluable support extended to Sri Lanka by Ukraine during the conflict years.