US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert O Blake, who visited Sri Lanka last week, had productive meetings during his visit, the US State Department said yesterday (19).

The State Department Spokesperson made this statement in response to a request made for readout of Assistant Secretary Blake's recent travel to Sri Lanka and India.

“Assistant Secretary Blake had productive meetings in Sri Lanka with President Rajapaksa, Foreign Minister Peiris, and other government officials to discuss ways the Government of Sri Lanka can further integrate the people of the north back into the political and economic life of the island while also completing the important work of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission in determining the facts surrounding the end of the war in 2009. Assistant Secretary Blake also visited Jaffna to see first-hand the conditions of the people there,” the statement added.

US Assistant Secretary, Robert O Blake, at the end of his three day visit to Sri Lanka said, “This is a very different country from when I left in May of 2009. Most of the IDPs have left Menik Farm and the rest will leave as soon as demining is complete; important local council elections have taken place in the north; more than 8,000 ex-combatants have been rehabilitated and released; and substantial work has been done in the North to re-open schools, improve infrastructure, and remove mines.”