President Mahinda Rajapaksa left New York yesterday (26) after attending the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly and meeting with several world leaders and participating in high level discussions on global measures to combat terrorism, and progress on achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Yesterday he met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, at which discussions centered on the prevailing conditions in Sri Lanka, especially related to the government’s measures to defeat the terrorism of the LTTE. Mr. Brown was told of the actions being taken by Government to ease the humanitarian situations that may arise from the ongoing operations against the LTTE, which continued to follow its policy of violence and terror.

In discussions on the issue of condoning with the European Union’s GSP plus policy towards Sri Lanka, having heard the Sri Lankan position on the matter, Mr. Brown said it would be pursued further with the EU.

President Rajapaksa’s final meeting was with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, also on Friday,. At this meeting too, the UNSG was updated on the latest developments vis-à-vis the operations to defeat terrorism and the clear position of Sri Lanka in observing a policy of zero tolerance of civilian causalities. The Sri Lankan delegation made it clear that all measures needed to ease the humanitarian situation were being taken, especially with regard to the Dips; more food, medicines and other essentials were being sent to the North, especially to the affected areas, and that all further humanitarian measures will be taken with the cooperation with the United Nations.

The President placed the position of both Sri Lanka and SAARC before the UNGA at its 63rd session, where he emphasized that there will be no discussions with the LTTE until it laid down its weapons and gave up its military facilities in a verifiable manner, and that Sri Lanka believed that the UN and its members should support Sri Lanka in its efforts to defeat a terrorist organization that was threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a member state.

The President has his first meetings with the new Pakistani President Asif Ali Zadari and the Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. He also had useful meetings with the President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the President of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights Ms. Navanathem Pillay, and participated in the Opening Session of the High-Level Meeting of the MDGs, and the MDG’s interactive Roundtable of Poverty and Hunger.

This session of the UNGA is marked for the increasing consensus being reached on the need to eradicate terrorism world wide.