News

Environmentalist, wildlife enthusiast and expert on Sri Lankan elephants, Srilal Miththapala gave a talk on ‘Sri Lanka Wildlife and Sustainable Tourism with a special focus on elephants’ at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra on 10 July.

The audience consisting travel writers, tourism industry representatives, wildlife and elephant enthusiasts enjoyed the informative and insightful presentation with video clips of elephants in Sri Lanka.

This is the second talk given by Srilal MIththapala at the High Commission and the third in the series of tourism promotional events hosted by the High Commission to provide the tourism industry, travel writers and wildlife experts in Canberra, an opportunity to see a glimpse of what Sri Lanka has to offer in terms of wildlife and sustainable tourism.

After a brief overview of Sri Lanka’s topography and tourism factors, Miththapala focussed on the Sri Lankan elephant which is fast becoming an icon for Sri Lanka tourism. He described the cultural and religious importance of this special animal in Sri Lanka as well as its demographics, behaviour and social life: he also entertained the audience with stories of personal encounters with these gentle giants revered in the Island nation, along with images and videos.

High Commissioner Somasundaram Skandakumar in introducing the speaker highlighted his vast experience in the hospitality industry and in developing sustainable tourism practices in Sri Lanka. The audience was able to interact with the speaker at the end while savouring Sri Lankan tea and delicacies.

Sri Lanka High Commission

Canberra

13 July 2018

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake paid an official visit to El Salvador from 6 -9 July 2018 to represent Sri Lanka in the first session of bilateral political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and El Salvador. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Integration and Economic Promotion Carlos Castaneda led the El Salvador side during the bilateral political consultations.

A key issue that the two Ministers focussed during the discussions was collaborative processes for prevention of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) that is prevalent in both El Salvador and Sri Lanka. They agreed to utilize scientific and technical assistance through the framework of South-South Cooperation to address challenges in the health and education sectors. The Ministers also agreed to explore the possibility of signing a framework agreement on scientific, technical, education and cultural cooperation to pursue shared objectives in these sectors.  On the subject of gender equality, Sri Lanka and El Salvador undertook to share their experiences and best practices.

The two sides also discussed bilateral trade and investment, and envisaged cooperation in the areas of culture, science and technology, education, agriculture and tourism. To strengthen bilateral trade, the two Ministers agreed to promote business linkages between the relevant chambers of commerce in the two countries and host trade fairs. In this context, El Salvador extended an invitation to the Government of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka’s business community to actively participate in the 26th International Fair Edition, a bi-annual trade fair scheduled to be held in San Salvador on 14-17 November 2018.

The two sides issued a joint communiqué following the conclusion of the first session of bilateral political consultations. Sri Lanka will host the Second Session of Bilateral Consultations in 2020.

During the visit State Minister Senanayake also paid a courtesy call on President of El Salvador H.E. Mr. Salvador Sánchez Cerén. State Minister Senanayake was accompanied to the meetings by Mr. A. L.  Ratnapala, Ambassador to El Salvador accredited from Havana, Cuba.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

12 July 2018

At the invitation of President Maithripala Sirisena, the Prime Minister of Thailand General Prayut Chan-o-cha will undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka on 12 and 13 July 2018. This visit takes place against the backdrop of discussions during President Sirisena’s visit to Thailand in November 2015.

Prime Minister Chan-o-cha will arrive in Sri Lanka in the afternoon of 12 July. On the evening of 12 July, he will be received by President Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat, and accorded an official guard of honour and gun salute. This will be followed by official bilateral discussions that will cover the full range of bilateral engagement between Sri Lanka and Thailand from culture to commerce and people-to-people contact. The President will host an official banquet at the President’s House that same evening for the visiting Thai Prime Minister and delegation.

The following instruments are expected to be signed during the visit:

• Treaty on the Transfer of Offenders and on Co-operation in the Enforcement of Penal Sentences
• Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Economic Partnership
• Memorandum of Understanding on Technological Collaboration Related to Value Addition of Primary Products
• Joint Action Programme for Cooperation on Sustainable Community Development Model Based on the Application of Sufficiency Economy Philosophy in Sri Lanka

A significant feature of the visit will be the launch of negotiations for a possible future Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will host the visiting Prime Minister at breakfast followed by discussions focusing on economic cooperation, trade and investments between the two countries.

Reflecting our shared and historical cultural heritage, Prime Minister Chan-o-cha will visit the Temple of the sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy, and call on the Most Venerable Mahanayake Theros of the Malwatta and Asgiriya Chapters of the Siam sect. He will also plant a sapling at the Royal Botanical Garden in Peradeniya to mark his visit to Sri Lanka.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

10 July 2018

Text in Sinhala (PDF)

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Sri Lanka retained its Tier 2 ranking in the US State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for the second consecutive year. The 2018 Report which was released on 28 June 2018 can be accessed online at https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/

The annual Trafficking in Persons Report is prepared as per the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, as amended, which has authorized the establishment of the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons to assist in the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts. The annual Report which assesses all countries is used by the US Government to engage foreign governments in dialogues to advance anti-trafficking reforms, combat trafficking and target resources on prevention, protection and prosecution programmes. Each country is placed onto one of three tiers based on the extent of the efforts by respective governments to comply with the “minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking” found in Section 108 of the TVPA.

From 2013 to 2016, Sri Lanka was placed in the Tier 2 Watch List for 4 successive years and upgraded to Tier 2 in 2017 in view of the proactive measures taken by the relevant agencies of government to combat trafficking. Classification of countries in this annual report of the State Department affects US assistance for countries with governments of countries on Tier 3 being subject to certain restrictions on US assistance as well as assistance from multilateral development banks.

The TIP report 2018 states that the Government of Sri Lanka demonstrated increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period and therefore, Sri Lanka has been retained in Tier 2.

Sri Lanka recognizes and acknowledges the magnitude of the problem of human trafficking worldwide, undermining universal values and posing a threat to national security by encouraging and enriching transnational criminal as well as terrorist networks. Sri Lanka remains committed to working with the US and other bilateral partners as well as international organizations to combat this scourge locally and internationally.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

4 July 2018

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