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Monday, June 07, 2010 - 5.38 GMT |
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UK assures support for SL’s reconstruction and reconciliation |
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The British Secretary of State for Defence, Dr. Liam Fox assured Minister of External Affairs, Prof. G.L. Peiris the support of the British Government for Sri Lanka’s efforts to rebuild her economy and to move towards lasting peace and reconciliation.
UK’s Secretary of State for Defence made this assurance at a meeting with Minister Peiris on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on critical strategic and policy issues in the region. Prof. Peiris and Dr. Fox were both participants in the Dialogue.
This meeting was the first high level contact between President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s Government and the incoming administration in the United Kingdom.
They further discussed a wide range of issues relating to the political situation in Sri Lanka and developments in respect of the economy. Prof. Peiris briefed Dr. Fox fully about the success achieved by the government of Sri Lanka regarding the resettlement of internally displaced persons, the scaling down of Emergency Regulations, the appointment of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, and current initiatives in the field of constitutional reform.
The Minister of External Affairs also briefed Dr. Fox about his recent discussions with United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Washington and Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon in New York.
The Minister told the Secretary of State that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has already met with the members of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. He added, “The Commission is already up and running. We have not let the grass grow under our feet”. The Minister explained that the Commission is a home-grown mechanism, sensitive to local aspirations and values, and designed to serve as a practical instrument reinforcing the healing process.
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