International Affairs

Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan yesterday said that Pakistan deeply valued its close and friendly relations with Sri Lanka.

A “breach of diplomatic protocol” is how senior officials are describing an exchange of statements between the Pakistani High Commission in Sri Lanka and the Presidential Secretariat about a meeting that took place between Islamabad’s envoy in Colombo and the President last Tuesday, 20 Aug, that has left officials with red faces on both sides.

නව හමුදාපති ලෙස ශවේන්‍ද්‍ර සිල්වා මහතා පත් කිරීම සම්බන්ධව බටහිර රටවල් 28 ක් සිය විරෝධය පළ කර ඇත.

A top United Nations’ official probing religious freedom issues has blamed “deeply rooted identity politics” and politicians’ manipulation of religion as undermining inter-religious harmony and peace in Sri Lanka. Briefing news media at the end of his 12-day-long study tour of Sri Lanka, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Ahmed Shaheed said that he had heard concerns being expressed that “some politicians intentionally instrumentalize religions, possibly for political gain, especially during elections”. Shaheed will present a report with his conclusions and recommendations to the Human Rights Council in Geneva in March 2020.

Ukrainian-based SkyUp Airlines, a low-cost air carrier, which belongs to SkyUp LLC, plans to launch flights from Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv to Sri Lanka and Austria, Unian info reported.

හමුදාපති ලෙස ශවේන්ද්‍ර සිල්වා මහතා පත්කිරීම නිසා ඇමරිකානු හමුදා සහයෝගිතාවයට සහ ආයෝජනවලට බලපාන බව ඇමරිකානු රාජ්‍ය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව (22 දා) ශ‍්‍රී ලංකා රජයට අනතුරු අගවා ඇත.

World Food Programme (WFP) has renewed its partnership with Sri Lanka in helping rural communities withstand climate change.

The Global Tamil Forum (GTF) has called for impactful actions and not just diplomatic rhetoric on Sri Lanka.

Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka Eric Lavertu visited the Hambantota International Port (HIP) earlier in the month. He was welcomed by the management and staff of the port and given a full inspection tour. The Ambassador met with key officials including Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG) CEO Ray Ren and Hambantota International Port Services (HIPS) CEO Capt. Ravi Jayawickreme, to discuss investment opportunities for France in Sri Lanka. He had lengthy discussions with the HIP team on future prospects and development during his three-hour visit.

Air transportation between India and Palali Airport in Jaffna will start before the end of the year, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said.

The newly appointed High Commissioner-designate of Sri Lanka to the Commonwealth of Australia, J.C. Weliamuna assumed duties at the Sri Lanka High Commission, Canberra on August 20. His assumption of duties was marked by a ceremony organised by the staff of the High Commission in keeping with Sri Lankan traditions.

The World Food Programme (WFP) supports Sri Lanka through its innovative and sustainable new project – R5, said V.Sivagnanasothy, Secretary, Ministry of National Policies, Economic Affairs, Resettlement and Rehabilitation, Northern Province Development and Youth Affairs.

Reports say that Sri Lanka Army is at the risk of losing its international peacekeeping missions.

The visiting UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Ahmed Shaheed, when he called on Opposition Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa at the latter's Chamber at the Parliamentary Complex in Battaramulla, has said that all ethnic groups in Sri Lanka enjoyed freedom of religion in comparison to some other countries in Asia.

President Maithripala Sirisena’s office has denied parts of a statement issued by the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo yesterday.

ජනතා විමුක්ති ‌පෙරමුණ හා ‌වෙනිසියුලා රාජ්‍ය නියෝජිතයින් අතර 24 පස්වරුවේ සාකච්ඡාවක් පැවැත්විණි.

The Government is currently in the process of restructuring the Sri Lankan Airlines wile planning to infuse capital of around US $250 million from China Development Bank to get over its mounting debt burden, a top official said.

Sri Lanka’s new Ambassador to the UN, Kshenuka Dhireni Senewiratne met UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN Headquarters in New York.