(Lanka-e-News- 24.Nov.2015, 8.00PM) Samantha Power, the UN organization US permanent representative cum close associate of US president Barack Obama arrived in Sri Lanka (SL) on 21 st on a two day tour of SL. Incidentally , this year alone, arrival of two close associates of Barack Obama in SL is an index how much stronger the ties between SL and America have grown with the advent of the new government of SL.
On her arrival in SL , she was most warmly welcomed by SL’s foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera . Later she met with the president , the prime minister and the chief minister of the north . Duirng her tour of the North yesterday , she met the governor of the Northern province , Jaffna district secretary , the media personnel of the area , and relatives of those who went missing during the war.
Last evening (23) ,when she met with president and the prime minister at the presidential secretariat , she expressed her great appreciation in relation to the programs of the new government during the last 10 months aimed at establishing long lasting reconciliation within the country. When implementing these programs the government is conducting itself most dependably and in a manner that is acceptable . However if these measures can be further extended , that will be most welcome , she added.
The new changes that are taking place in the country are most salutary , and it is apparent the country is blossoming thereby ,Ms. Power pointed out.
She went on to comment that while leaders of African and Asian countries are seeking to entrench themselves in power , the SL president Maithripala Sirisena on the other hand sought to give it up . That was a good example he set to the world leaders , she pinponted.
Based on the latest political restructuring , certainly the economy of the country is going to develop , and the country is going to reap its benefits . Therefore she is optimistic SL will soon serve as a beacon , Ms. Power asserted.
Hereunder is the statement made by Hon. Minister of foreign affairs Mangala Samaraweera to the media following the dicussions held with Samantha Power , the US permanent representative to the UN.
Good evening ladies and gentlemen.
It has been an honour and a privilege today to welcome Ambassador Samantha Power to this historic Republic building.
As all of you know, Ambassador Power is the second member of President Obama’s Cabinet to visit Sri Lanka in the space of a year.
This I believe indicates the level of excellence that relations between our two countries have now reached.
I met Ambassador Power in New York in February for the first time soon after being sworn in as Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maithripala Sirisena administration. We have come a long way since then in laying the foundation for a strong Sri Lanka-US partnership.
Ambassador Power has been, and continues to be, a good friend of Sri Lanka. Even in the most difficult times, she always maintained faith and trust in the people of this country and in the latent strengths of our nation.
Her presence here with us is a source of encouragement to us as we proceed on the journey we began on the 8th of January to make our country a truly peaceful, reconciled, prosperous, nation which abides by the best democratic traditions; promoting and protecting the human rights of each of our citizens and celebrating the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual nature of our society.
Today, Sri Lanka is taken note of by the world community, not merely in terms of geographic positioning but in terms of the changes that have been ushered in by the people of our country.
In our meeting, we discussed about working together to ensure that the people of our country benefit from these changes and from the peace and democratic dividend; ways of making our partnership stronger, including enhancing bilateral trade and investment.
It is a challenging path that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. We have a long way to go and this is the first time that the people of Sri Lanka require the assistance of the international community to ensure that are gains are built upon; the dreams of our people are realized, and we define and create our future today by our hopes and aspirations without being held back anymore by the fears and prejudices of the past.
I am grateful to Ambassador Power for undertaking this visit. I look forward to staying engaged with her, and to work closely with her to further enhance US-Sri Lanka relations. I wish Ambassador Power and her team a very pleasant stay in Sri Lanka.
Thank you very much.
(Herein are photographs taken when Samantha Power toured SL )
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by (2015-11-24 08:13:47)
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