Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

The Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation of South Africa, Ms. Nomaindia Mfeketo had a bilateral meeting with Ajith P. Perera, Actg. Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Foreign Ministry, today, 26th February 2015. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo 

26th February 2015

The newly constituted Board of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) met for the first time on Wednesday, 25th February 2015 at "The Lighthouse" (LKIIRSS premises) on Horton Place.  The new Board members are Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera (Chair), Suganthie Kadirgamar, Mano Tittawela, Saliya Pieris, Iqbal Athas, Ram Manikkalingam, Azam Bakeer Markar and Radhika Coomaraswamy. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo

26th February 2015

Accomplishing yet another landmark in the relations between  Sri Lanka and South Africa, the 5^th round of the Sri Lanka – South Africa Partnership Forum was convened on  24^th February 2015 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Session was  co-chaired by Mrs. Chitranganee Wagiswara, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and Ambassador Dr. Anil Sooklal, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of the Republic of South Africa.

Read more: 5th Round of the Sri Lanka – South Africa Partnership Forum

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake visited Washington D.C. from 17th to 18th February and met with senior officials of the Bretton Woods institutions, the US Treasury, the US Department of State and the White House. He met with Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde, the World Bank's Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati, and US Assistant Secretary for Treasury Ramin Toloui as well as US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nish Biswal and the senior officials of the White House.

Read more: Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake concludes successful visit to Washington

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaweera will travel to Geneva to attend the High-Level Segment of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) to be held on 2^nd March 2015. Over 65 Foreign Ministers from around the world will participate in this year's High-Level Segment.

He is also scheduled to meet UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

20^th February 2015

UNEDITED SPEECH  -  18.2.2015 

ගරු මංගල සමරවීර මහතා (විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යතුමා)

(மாண்புமிகு மங்கள சமரவீர - வெளிநாட்டலுவல்கள் அமைச்சர்)

(The Hon. Mangala Samaraweera - Minister of Foreign Affairs) 

Hon. Presiding Member, as you maybe aware, at the end of January, I was in Brussels, the home of the European Union. The objective of my visit was largely to revive positive relations and begin a new chapter in Sri Lanka-European Union relations, based on mutual respect and understanding. But, I was also in Brussels  to specifically address two very urgent issues of great national importance: firstly, the EU-IUU fishing ban which was announced on the 14^th of October last year and which came into force three months later, on the 14^th of January this year, exactly one week after the new President was sworn into office. Secondly, I went there to discuss the question of the GSP Plus tariff concession, which was withdrawn from Sri Lanka nearly five years ago as a result of the previous Government’s persistent reluctance to embrace good governance and ensure basic human rights. 

Read more: Foreign Minister's Statement in Parliament on EU visit, Fishing & GSP

The Government of Sri Lanka vehemently condemns the gruesome killing of twenty one Coptic Christian Egyptians by the terrorist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Libya last Sunday, 15^th February 2015.

Read more: Sri Lanka condemns the brutal Killing of 21 Egyptians in Libya.