Sri Lanka’s foreign minister responds to attack on peacekeepers in Lebanon

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath says that the government deeply regrets the attacks that injured two Sri Lankan peacekeepers in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). 

Speaking during an interaction with the Colombo-based Diplomatic Corps at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held this morning (14), Minister Herath added: “We are proud of our peacekeepers who serve in several challenging UN Missions and it is important that the obligation of all parties to respect UN personnel and UN premises is respected.”

Furthermore, the Foreign Affairs Minister stated that on the international front, Sri Lanka continues to remain highly concerned about the current global situation, particularly in the Middle East region. 

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is turning more dire by the day, and recent developments that have an impact on wider regional dimensions, in particular in Lebanon are most concerning”, he said. 

He also highlighted that Sri Lanka continues calling for an immediate ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza and a sustainable two-state solution that includes the establishment of an independent sovereign and viable State of Palestine, based on the 1967 borders, in line with relevant UN resolutions as well as ensuring the security of Israel.

Commenting regarding Sri Lanka’s chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the Minister informed that, due to the upcoming Parliamentary Elections, the meeting of the IORA Council of Ministers will be postponed until next year.

He mentioned that the timeframe is to be decided in consultation with IORA Members and the Secretariat.

Speaking on the recent developments of Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring, Herath emphasized that the process is very near completion, enabling the government to proceed towards the third review of the IMF program, further cementing economic stability, and reinforcing the foundation for sustainable, inclusive economic recovery and growth.  

“Earlier this month, the Official Creditor Committee (OCC) and the IMF have confirmed that the Agreements reached with Sovereign bond holders is in line with the ‘comparability of treatment’ requirements and debt sustainability targets respectively. This in simple words means that the debt restructuring process is very near completion”, he added.

Additionally, the Minister said: “In another positive step, the World Bank signed the agreement on the RESET (Second Resilience, Stability, and Economic Turnaround) Development Policy Operation (DPO) amounting to $200 million. This is aimed at implementing a reform program including economic governance, enhancing growth, and protecting the poor and vulnerable. As the program is proceeding satisfactorily, this was the second operation to be disbursed of the two-part series.”

“The Government is keen to ensure that these stabilization measures go hand in hand with improving the standard of living of all Sri Lankans and will implement practical programs to alleviate the heavy economic burden faced by them. We are committed to ensuring that economic growth is truly inclusive, which will at the same time drive growth and investment, with the confidence of our private sector and business community”, Minister Herath added.