International Affairs

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) said yesterday that the UN Peacekeeping Department (UNPD) has not yet informed them about their decision to ban the deployment of SLA troops in UN Peacekeeping missions in the future.

The US Government is helping make Arugam Bay a sustainable, green tourist destination.

Swiss Singapore Overseas (Pte) Ltd, a commodity trader, has won a deal to supply 300,000 metric tonnes of coal to Sri Lanka.

The UN peacekeeping department has decided to ban the deployment of non-essential Sri Lankan Army troops in UN peacekeeping missions citing the appointment of the new army commander who is alleged to have committed war crimes, a UN spokesperson has told the Foreign Policy News.

Sri Lankan authorities have assured International Monetary Fund (IMF) that they are taking steps to complete all the pending actions and structural benchmarks for the sixth review of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) over the next few weeks.

A 480 million US dollar grant from the Millennium Challenge Corporation was to be signed by Sri Lanka before defence related agreements with the US and there is no link between them, an official said.

The reform process undertaken by the government of Sri Lanka to restructure the national anti-corruption strategy has been brought to the attention of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at Vienna, September this year.

India is to supply more locomotives and wagons to Sri Lanka soon, the Indian High Commission in Colombo said today.

චීනයෙන් ආනයනය කරන ලද නවීන පහසුකම් වලින් සමන් විත දුම්රියක් කොළඹ හා බදුල්ල අතර ධාවනය සඳහා එක් කිරීමට දුම්රිය දෙපාර්තුමේන්තුව සැළසුම් කැර තිබේ.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Austria Saroja Sirisena presented Letters of Credence to United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) Director General Li Yong on 17 September, at the Vienna International Centre, accrediting her as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to UNIDO.

The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Sarah Hulton had talks with Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The United States says it hopes some policies will continue in Sri Lanka following the November 16 Presidential elections.

The newly appointed High Commissioner J.C. Weliamuna presented Letters of Credence on 20 September 2019 to the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, General David Hurly. The ceremony held at Government House was attended by Deputy Secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Penny Williams, representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Women, Australia.

Sri Lanka today condemned the drone attacks targeting the Abqaiq oil processing facility and Khurais oil field in Saudi Arabia.

The Government of Japan has provided a grant aid worth 218 million Japanese Yen (approximately $ 2 million) through the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) for the project of ‘Implementation of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Sri Lanka’ to accelerate positive change on gender equality, empowerment of women and girls and respect for their human rights to achieve and sustain peace in Sri Lanka. The Exchange of Notes for the project was signed on 18 September at the Ambassador’s Residence between Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Akira Sugiyama and Regional Director of UN Women for Asia and the Pacific Mohammad Naciri. Ministry of Women and Child Affairs and Development of Dry Zones Secretary Dharshana Senanayake also attended the ceremony.

One of world’s most dynamic SME and MSME collectives has come forward to support Sri Lankan MSMEs to fulfil its long cherished dream of going global.

US President Donald Trump today recalled the deadly bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday as he spoke at a UN event on religious freedom.

The first hi-tech vocational training centre in Sri Lanka’s Northern Province was launched on 18 September. The US $ 7.6 Mn new facility in Ariya Nagar, Kilinochchi gives Northern youth the sought-after, hi-tech NVQ level course offerings such as IT, electronics and automotive mechanics for the first time.