Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry has briefed the Colombo-based diplomatic corps on the current developments in Sri Lanka.

The roundtable convened on Wednesday (Aug. 16) was a continuation of regular briefings organized by the Foreign Affairs Ministry to share information on current developments in the country.

During the briefing, Minister Sabry outlined the key developments including the recently-taken measures focusing on financial stabilization, economic recovery and growth, legislative reforms including the adoption of the anti-corruption bill, proposed truth-seeking mechanism and the proposed anti-terrorism bill.

The lawmaker also highlighted the salient points of President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s statement in Parliament on August 08, 2023, on the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.

He additionally provided a summary of the progress made under the ongoing reconciliation endeavours and the work being carried out by the independent mechanisms.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane outlined Sri Lanka’s ongoing participation in multilateral fora including Sri Lanka’s constructive engagement at the 4th Cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), review of Sri Lanka’s Report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and Sri Lanka’s continued engagement with the United Nations including Sri Lanka’s participation in the upcoming 54th session of the Human Rights Council and in the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023.

She further highlighted the upcoming Fifth Forum of Ministers of Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific which will be held in Colombo from October 03-06, 2023 and the upcoming IORA Ministerial Meeting scheduled to be held on October 11, 2023, where Sri Lanka will assume the chairmanship of the organization for the period 2023-2025.

Presentations on the progress of domestic institutions were made by Chairperson of the Office for Reparations (OR) Dhara Wijayatilake, Chairperson of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP) Mahesh Katulanda, Director General of the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR) Deepthi Lamahewa, Director General of the Interim Secretariat of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Asanga Gunawansa, and the Director General of the Office for Overseas Sri Lankan Affairs  (OOSLA) V. Krishnamoorthy.

Additional Secretary of the Presidential Secretariat Chandima Wickramasinghe provided an update on the implementation of Sri Lanka’s National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.