Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

The Under Secretary General of the Department of Political Affairs of the United Nations Jeffrey Feltman will visit Sri Lanka from 28 February to 3 March 2015. This visit which follows the meeting on 13 February between UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera in New York manifests Sri Lanka’s renewed engagement with the United Nations.

Read more: UN Under Secretary General to visit Sri Lanka

The Government and people of Sri Lanka are deeply saddened by the loss of over 187 lives, injury to over 129 people and damage to property resulting from the deadly avalanches that occurred on 26^th February, 2015 in the Panjshir, Nuristan, Badakhshan Provinces.

Sri Lanka extends deepest condolences to the families of those bereaved, wish the injured a speedy recovery and express confidence that those affected would rebuild their lives through the inherent courage and resilience of the Afghan people. 

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