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Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 7.50 GMT |
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Sri Lanka and Burkina Faso to strengthen south-south cooperation |
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The Senior Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation of Burkina Faso Mr. Yipene Djibrill Bassole called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa this morning at the Presidential Secretariat.
While thanking the government of Burkina Faso for its continued support to Sri Lanka in international fora, President Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka’s current foreign policy has prioritized expanding and strengthening bilateral relations among African countries.
Conveying a message from Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore, Mr. Bassole commended President Rajapaksa’s “effort to develop the country and to increase stability and reconciliation.”
Mr. Bassole said one of the purposes of the visit to Sri Lanka is to strengthen south-south cooperation. Burkina Faso being a member of the U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC), he said, “We have to show solidarity.”
Burkina Faso is one of the eight countries that abstained in the recent vote on the resolution against Sri Lanka at the UNHRC. Mr. Bassole said he had been tasked with getting a first-hand look at the situation in Sri Lanka and informing the president and the people of his country.
Mr. Bassole said the government of Burkina Faso is also interested in enhancing cooperation between the two countries in a number of sectors, including in the area of youth development, and looks forward to drawing lessons from Sri Lanka’s success stories.
Ambassador of Burkina Faso in Sri Lanka Mr. Idriss Raoua Ouedraogo and the director of the Minister’s Cabinet and the director general for bilateral relations of the Burkina Faso Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation, Mr. Amadou Dicko and Mr. Gnama Henri Bacye, were a part of the Burkina Faso delegation.
Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Secretary to the President Mr. Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Mr. Karunatilake Amunugama and Additional Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs Mr. I. Ansar also joined the meeting.
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