*Sri Lanka has always worked with the UN agencies
*Pressure on Lanka would polarize affected parties
“Mr. James Moore who was Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Colombo, you would be able to see the difference between that time and now on the ground in the war affected areas,’’ External Affairs Minister Prof G. L Peiris told Mr. Moore who is one of the members of the US high level delegation now in Colombo, last evening, when he met its members.
Minister of External Affairs Prof. GL Peiris who is currently in New Delhi in connection with the 8th Session of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission called on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 23 January. Minister Peiris conveyed the greetings of President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Prime Minister Singh. Recalling President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s recent visit to India in September 2012, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requested Minister Peiris to convey his warm personal regards to the President and assured Minister Peiris that India’s cooperation with Sri Lanka in all sectors is accorded highest priority.
The Eighth meeting of the India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission was held on 22 January 2013 in New Delhi. It was co-chaired by Shri Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs of India and Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka. The Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) was preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting at the level of the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries on 21 January 2013.
A cargo vessel “MV Orana” owned by an Ajman based shipping company, Kassab Inter Shipping LLC was hijacked by Somali pirates on 2nd December 2010 with twenty crew members on board including a Sri Lankan seaman named Mr. K.A.S.Soorasena.
The Ministry of External Affairs, through the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Dubai and the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Nairobi, was in constant contact with the owner of the vessel with a view of securing the release of Mr. Soorasena while keeping his family briefed about the developments on regular basis.
It has been confirmed that Miss Rizana Nafeek was beheaded by Saudi authorities this morning at Dawadmy, Saudi Arabia.
The Sri Lankan housemaid was employed for less than 6 weeks in 2005 when she was charged by her Saudi employer for allegedly killing their infant while she was bottle feeding and thereafter sentenced to death in the year 2007.
The Government of Sri Lanka arranged for an appeal against the death sentence with the assistance of the Asian Human Rights Organization based in Hong Kong but the Superior Court of Saudi Arabia reconfirmed the death sentence.
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania established formal diplomatic relations on 21st December 2012. H.E. Dr. Palitha Kohona, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, signed the Joint Communiqué on behalf of Sri Lanka, while H.E. Mr. Ahmed Ould Teguedi, the Permanent Representative of Mauritania to the United Nations, singed on behalf of Mauritania.
