President Mahinda Rajapaksa returned to the island this morning (October 31) after successfully completing his tour to Australia to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held from October 28 to 30 in Perth.

Themed 'Building National Resilience, Building Global Resilience', CHOGM 2011 brought together 54 world leaders representing approximately one-quarter of the world's countries and one-third of the world's population.

During his visit, President Rajapaksa met with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and apprised her of the current development ventures in Sri Lanka, and the progress in the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North.

He also delivered the key note address at the Commonwealth Business Forum in Burswood Complex, in Burswood on October 27.

CHOGM 2011 concluded in Perth on October 30, with the leaders of 54 nations agreeing to hold the next meeting in Colombo in 2013 as proposed. Addressing the concluding session, President Rajapaksa invited the state leaders to participate in the forthcoming CHOGM in Sri Lanka.