Results: 41
Sri Lanka to use foreign missions to promote trade, investment
The new government on Wednesday said it will use its diplomatic missions overseas to promote the country’s trade, investment and businesses. MORE...
Aust co-sponsors Sri Lanka resolution
Australia has co-sponsored a reconciliation resolution to the United Nations with the Sri Lankan government. MORE...
UN war crimes report soft pedals LTTE’s using human shield: G.L.
Former Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Prof.G.L.Peiris has said that the report of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights on “war crimes” in Lanka has soft pedaled the LTTE’s using civilians as a human shield, when it is a war crime under international humanitarian law. MORE...
Lankan High Commissioner calls on Bangladesh Foreign Minister
Newly appointed Sri Lankan High Commissioner in Bangladesh Yasoja Gunasekera has paid a courtesy call on Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali. They discussed issues of mutual interest, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry has said. MORE...
Sri Lanka’s domestic mechanism to be finalised by January
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera says that the setting up of a four-tier domestic mechanism to investigate allegations of human rights violations will be finalised by January 2016 and implemented within 18 months. MORE..
Govt assures due attention to UN report
The Sri Lankan Government today said it will ensure that the content and recommendations of the UNHRC report receive due attention of the relevant authorities including the new mechanisms that are envisaged to be set up. MORE..
Sri Lanka promises justice after UN war crimes report
Sri Lanka promised to deliver justice after a United Nations human rights report called on Wednesday for a special court to be set up to prosecute war crimes committed during the nation’s 26-year civil conflict. MORE..
Tamils reject govt’s wartime truth commission, demand international inquiry?
Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils has rejected government plans for a truth commission to promote reconciliation after decades of ethnic war, insisting on an international inquiry, the AFP news agency reported. MORE...
Government holds a double standard: Gammanpila
The government holds a double standard in dealing with the international community and the public with respect to the probe on alleged war crimes investigation, leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Udaya Gammanpila says. MORE...
New constitution, amendments to penal code; steps to create a new Sri Lanka: Mangala
“The best guarantee for non-recurrence is of course a political settlement that addresses the grievances of the Tamil people. We hope that we can achieve this through the adoption of a new Constitution,” Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said. MORE...
Mangala holds talks with UN rights chief
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Justice Minister Wijedasa Rajapakse have held discussions with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein. MORE...
Harsha focusing on economic diplomacy
Deputy Foreign Minister Dr Harsha de Silva today said that the main economic issue in Sri Lanka is the weaknesses in the country’s economic relations with other countries. MORE..
UAE Foreign Minister calls on President Sirisena
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nayhan has called on President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. MORE...
New Government will work closely with all partners, says Mangala
The new Government will work closely with all its partners to ensure a stable and secure atmosphere for sustainable economic prosperity for all people, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera has said. MORE...
Foreign debt has fallen to a new record under the new government: FM
Sri Lanka’s foreign debt under the new government has decreased while maintaining the foreign reserve at US $ 7.5 billion, the Finance Ministry said today (10). MORE...
Man held with foreign currency worth over Rs 4.5m
A passenger attempting to leave the country with a large sum of undeclared foreign currency in his possession was arrested by customs officers at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake. MORE..
Iran to further boost ties with Sri Lanka
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif at a meeting with Sri Lankan delegation to Iran, has voiced Tehran’s willingness to further boost ties with Sri Lanka, Iranian media reported. MORE...
Government hails resolution of Iran nuclear issue
The government has welcomed the resolution of the Iran nuclear issue, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Wednesday (22). MORE...
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, who undertook a visit to Japan on the invitation of his Japanese counterpart, Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida, concluded his tour successfully, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. MORE...
Sri Lanka to dilute dependence on China - Mangala
Sri Lanka’s foreign minister says the country will review its China-dependent foreign policy and boost ties with other nations. MORE...
Sri Lanka rupee falls to record low
The Sri Lankan rupee fell to a record low of 134 on Friday as a state-run bank, through which the central bank directs the markets, lowered the dollar selling rate by 20 cents, dealers said. MORE..
Sri Lanka to raise up to $2 bn in foreign borrowings
Sri Lanka’s government plans to borrow up to $2.0 billion from overseas, the finance minister said Thursday, just two weeks after raising a billion through its first international bond issue. MORE..
Sri Lanka condoles with Ghana over fire, flood tragedies
The Sri Lankan Government has condoled with the government and people of Ghana over the dual tragedy of flooding and fire outbreak which claimed scores of lives in that country. MORE..
Government recognizes the importance of engaging with the diaspora: Mangala
The Government recognizes the importance of engaging with the diaspora, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs intends to take the lead in organizing a diapora festival where persons of Sri Lankan origin from around the world in all possible fields...MORE
Govt’s immediate priority to reset investment climate - Mangala
Sri Lanka’s foreign minister says that with relatively well developed infrastructure and human capital, the government’s immediate priority is to reset the investment climate by making Sri Lanka a secure, efficient and competitive investment destination in South Asia. MORE..
Sri Lanka briefs diplomats on moves to restore democracy
Sri Lanka has briefed diplomats based in the country on moves to restore democracy, the Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday. MORE..
Govt. briefs envoys on moves to restore democracy
Sri Lanka has briefed diplomats based in the country on moves to restore democracy in the country, the foreign ministry said. The ministry of foreign affairs also said it has decided to have regular briefings for diplomats and the media based in Sri Lanka. MORE...
Kerry’s Sri Lanka visit to ‘show US support’
Top US diplomat John Kerry left early Friday on a landmark trip to Sri Lanka, the first such visit in a decade to the Indian Ocean island as it returns to the diplomatic fold. MORE..
AUDIO: Sri Lanka dispatches emergency relief assistance to Nepal, creates hotline
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Kathmandu has established a hotline for any inquiries regarding Sri Lankan nationals residing Nepal, in wake of the powerful earthquake that shook the country and Northern India. MORE..
New govt’s policies have created positive environment: Ban Ki-moon
Welcoming the new Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stated that a positive environment has been created by the policies of the new government in Sri Lanka for a greater collaboration with the United Nations and the international community. MORE..
I had no secret accounts in any foreign bank, says Rajapaksa
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Sunday (19) dismissed allegations of him, his wife or sons maintaining any illegal or secret offshore accounts in any foreign bank. MORE...
FCID grills Shasheendra Rajapaksa
The Financial Crimes Investigations Division is currently recording a statement from former Uva Province Chief Minister, Shasheendra Rajapaksa, over the misuse of two luxury buses belonging to the Foreign Ministry.
Four held with gold, foreign currency worth over Rs 5.4m
Four persons including 2 women have been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) when they attempted to leave the country with gold and foreign currency estimated to be worth over Rs 5.4 million. MORE..
Port city issue should not hinder bilateral ties: China
Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao says that the temporarily suspended port city development should not hinder the strengthening the friendly relationship between Sri Lanka and China. MORE...
Sri Lanka plans to lift ‘terrorist’ ban on Tamil groups
Sri Lanka’s new government has announced plans to remove 16 groups and hundreds of Tamils from a list of “foreign terrorists” as part of reconciliation with its largest ethnic minority. MORE...
Sri Lanka is not anti-China but mainland firms won’t get ‘carte blanche’: Ravi
Sri Lanka’s new leadership is not targeting China and only wants its help to fight corrupt deals orchestrated by the last government, the island nation’s finance minister said, even as he ratcheted up rhetoric against Chinese companies he said were once given “carte blanche” in his country. MORE...
China says Sri Lanka loans made “based on consensus”
China’s loans to Sri Lanka were made based on consensus through talks between the two countries and at Sri Lanka’s request, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday, after Sri Lanka’s foreign minister expressed concern about the loans. MORE...
Man held with foreign currency worth Rs 8.3 million
A person has been arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) in Katunayake this morning for attempting to leave the country with foreign currency worth around Rs 8.3 million in his possession. MORE..
Sri Lanka: Killing of 21 Egyptians by IS ‘a crime against humanity’
The Government of Sri Lanka today condemned the gruesome killing of twenty one Coptic Christian Egyptians by the terrorist group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Libya last Sunday. MORE..
Sri Lanka says seeking delay in UN war-crimes report
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said on Wednesday his country was seeking a delay of several months in the release of a U.N. report on alleged war crimes during his country’s civil war until the government had time to establish a mechanism to deal with the issue. MORE...
Sri Lanka to strengthen ‘special friendship’ with China
Describing the bilateral relations between China and Sri Lanka as a ‘special friendship,’ Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his desire to closely engage with the Chinese Government. MORE..