“The Indian Ocean: Defining our Future” Conference to be held in Colombo on   11-12 October 2018

“The Indian Ocean: Defining our Future” Conference, which aims to create a platform for Indian Ocean littoral states and major maritime users to discuss issues of mutual interest and concern, will be held in Colombo on 11-12 October 2018.

This Conference is held at a time when the Indian Ocean has emerged as one of the world’s busiest and most critical trade corridors, carrying two thirds of global oil shipments and a third of bulk cargo and hosting the most critical Sea Lanes of Communication (SLOCs), directly impacting global trade and economy.

“The Indian Ocean: Defining Our Future” Conference will explore the region’s strongest challenges and opportunities in a 2-day symposium featuring international dignitaries and experts from the littoral states and beyond. Sri Lanka’s geographical location in the Indian Ocean and its long history of peaceful engagement with the international community makes it an ideal convenor of such an international Conference.

The Conference, scheduled to be held at Temple Trees, is an initiative of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe with the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena.

The inaugural address of the Conference will be delivered by President Maithripala Sirisena while Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will deliver the keynote address. The UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, Ambassador Peter Thomson will also address the inaugural session.

The Inaugural Panel titled “Navigating Challenges and Prospects in the Indian Ocean: Towards a Shared Understanding” will include key policy makers such as Indian Deputy National Security Advisor Pankaj Saran, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US State Department Alice G. Wells, and Director General of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China Yi Xianliang, and Deputy Director General at Department of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa, and Chair of the Committee of Senior Officials of IORA, Dr Anil Sooklal.

The speakers and participants will focus their discussions on four thematic areas, namely:  The Indian Ocean Economy: The New Global Growth Pole;  Life below Water: Reframing the Oceans as Development Spaces; An End to Uncertainty: Safety and Security at Sea; and Reinforcing International Law in the Indian Ocean:  United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and Emerging Issues.

The Conference is expected to lead to a multilateral  diplomatic Conference to be held early next year in Sri Lanka building on the work of this Conference and move towards an understanding among littoral states and major maritime users that would contribute towards greater peace, security and prosperity in the Indian Ocean.

It is envisioned that events of this nature would further augment the government’s policy towards transforming Sri Lanka into a regional trading, logistics and financial hub.

The Conference, which is a Track 1.5 exercise that includes policy makers and senior government officials along with academia, is organised by the  Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute in collaboration with the Global Maritime Crime Programme of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

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2018ඔක්තෝබර්11 – 12 යන දිනවල කොළඹදී

ඉන්දියානු සාගරය ආශ්‍රිත රාජ්‍යයන්ට සහ එම සාගරය විශාල වශයෙන් භාවිතා කරන රටවල්වලට පොදු වූ අභිලාෂයන් හා ගැටලුවලට අදාළ කරුණු සාකච්ඡා කිරීම සඳහා වේදිකාවක් නිර්මාණය කිරීම අරමුණු කොට ගත් “ඉන්දියානු සාගරය : අපගේ අනාගතය නිර්වචනය කිරීම” සමුළුව 2018 ඔක්තෝබර් 11-12 යන දිනවල කොළඹදී පැවැත්වේ.

මෙම සමුළුව පැවැත්වෙනුයේ ගෝලීය වෙළෙඳාමට සහ ආර්ථිකයට ඍජු බලපෑමක් එල්ල කරමින්, ලොව තෙල් නෞකාවලින් තුනෙන් දෙකක් හා තොග භාණ්ඩ රැගෙන යන නෞකාවලින් තුනෙන් එකක් යාත්‍රා කරන,  අතිශය වැදගත් සන්නිවේදන මුහුදු මාර්ග පිහිටා තිබෙන ඉන්දියානු සාගරය ලොව වඩාත් කාර්යබහුලම හා තීරණාත්මකම වෙළෙඳ මාර්ගවලින් එකක් බවට පත්වී ඇති වකවානුවක ය.

ඉන්දියානු සාගරය ආශ්‍රිත රාජ්‍යයන් හා ඉන් ඔබ්බෙහි පිහිටි රාජ්‍යයන් නියෝජනය කරන සම්භාවනීය නියෝජිතයන් හා විද්වතුන්ගේ සහභාගීත්වයෙන් දින දෙකක් පුරා පැවැත්වෙන 2018 “ඉන්දියානු සාගරය: අපගේ අනාගතය නිර්වචනය කිරීම” සමුළුව කලාපය හමුවේ ඇති ප්‍රබලතම අභියෝග හා අවස්ථා ගවේෂණය කරනු ඇත. ඉන්දියානු සාගරයෙහි ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ භූගෝලීය පිහිටීම හා ජාත්‍යන්තර ප්‍රජාව සමඟ සාමකාමීව කටයුතු කිරීම පිළිබඳ එය සතු දීර්ඝ ඉතිහාසය, මෙවැනි ජාත්‍යන්තර සමුළුවක් කැඳවීමෙහිලා   සුදුසුම රාජ්‍යයක් බවට ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පත්කරයි.

අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත මෙම සමුළුව, ජනාධිපති මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතාගේ අනුග්‍රහය ඇතිව අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා විසින් කරනු ලැබූ මුල්පිරීමකි.

ජනාධිපති මෛත්‍රිපාල සිරිසේන මහතා විසින් සමුළුවේ සමාරම්භක දේශනය පවත්වනු ලබන අතර එහි ප්‍රධාන දේශනය පවත්වනු ලබන්නේ අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා විසිනි. එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මහලේකම්වරයාගේ සාගරය පිළිබඳ විශේෂ නියෝජිත තානාපති පීටර් තොම්සන් මහතාද සමාරම්භක සැසිවාරය ඇමතීමට නියමිතය.

“ඉන්දියානු සාගරයේ අභියෝග හා අපේක්ෂාවන් හැසිරවීම: පොදු අවබෝධයක් කරා” යන මැයෙන් යුත් සමාරම්භක සාකච්ඡා වාරයට, ඉන්දියානු නියෝජ්‍ය ජාතික ආරක්ෂක උපදේශක පංකජ් සරන් මහතා, ඇමෙරිකානු රාජ්‍ය දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ ප්‍රධාන නියෝජ්‍ය සහකාර ලේකම් ඇලිස් ජී. වෙල්ස් මහත්මිය, චීන විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ දේශසීමා හා සාගර කටයුතු පිළිබඳ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් යී ෂියෑන්ලියෑන්ග් මහතා, දකුණු අප්‍රිකාවේ ජාත්‍යන්තර සම්බන්ධතා හා සහයෝගිතාව පිළිබඳ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුවේ නියෝජ්‍ය අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් සහ ඉන්දියානු සාගර වටද්දර සංගමයේ ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන්ගේ කමිටුවේ සභාපති ආචාර්ය අනිල් සූක්ලාල් මහතා වැනි ප්‍රධාන පෙළේ ප්‍රතිපත්ති සම්පාදකයෝ සහභාගී වෙති.

සමුළුවේ කථිකයන් හා ඊට සහභාගීවන්නන් සිය සාකච්ඡා තේමාගත ක්ෂේත්‍ර හතරක් ඔස්සේ සිදුකිරීමට නියමිතය. එම තේමාවන් වනුයේ: “ඉන්දියානු සාගරයේ ආර්ථිකය : ගෝලීය වර්ධනයේ නව මානය” ; “දිය යට ජීවය : සාගරයෙන් සංවර්ධනය වෙත” ; “අවිනිශ්චිතබවට අවසානයක් : සමුදුරෙහි ආරක්ෂාව හා සුරක්ෂිතබව” ; සහ “ඉන්දියානු සාගරයේ ජාත්‍යන්තර නීතිය සවිගැන්වීම : සාගර නීතිය පිළිබඳ එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ සම්මුතිය හා මතුවෙමින් ඇති ගැටලු” යන තේමා හතරයි.

මෙම සමුළුව, එහිදී ඇති කරගන්නා එකඟතාවන් මත පදනම් වෙමින් ලබන වසරේ මුල් භාගයේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත බහුපාර්ශ්වීය රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික සමුළුවකට මංපෙත් විවර කරනු ඇතැයිද ඉන්දියානු සාගරයේ සාමය, ආරක්ෂාව හා සෞභාග්‍යය වැඩි දියුණු කිරීමට දායක වන අවබෝධයක් ඉන්දියානු සාගරය ආශ්‍රිත රටවල් සහ එම සාගරය විශාල වශයෙන් භාවිතා කරන රටවල් අතර ඇති කිරීමට කටයුතු කරනු ඇතැයිද අපේක්ෂා කෙරේ.

ශ්‍රී ලංකාව කලාපීය වෙළෙඳ, සේවා හා මූල්‍ය කේන්ද්‍රස්ථානයක් බවට පරිවර්තනය කිරීමේ රජයේ ප්‍රතිපත්තිය මෙවැනි සමුළුවලින් තවදුරටත් ශක්තිමත් වනු ඇතැයි අපේක්ෂිතය.

ප්‍රතිපත්ති සම්පාදකයන් හා ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ රාජ්‍ය නිලධාරීන් සමඟ විද්වතුන් සහභාගී වන මෙම සමුළුව අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය කාර්යාලය, විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය, සහ ලක්ෂ්මන් කදිර්ගාමර් ආයතනය, එක්සත් ජාතීන්ගේ මත්ද්‍රව්‍ය හා අපරාධ පිළිබඳ කාර්යාලයේ ගෝලීය සාමුද්‍රික අපරාධ වැඩසටහන හා එක්ව සංවිධානය කරයි.

2018 ඔක්තෝබර් 05 වැනිදා

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ஊடகவெளியீடு

‘இந்துசமுத்திரம்: எமதுஎதிர்காலத்தைவரையறுத்தல்‘ மாநாடு

2018 ஒக்டோபர் 11 – 12ஆந் திகதிகளில் கொழும்பில் நடைபெறவுள்ளது

பரஸ்பர நலன்கள் மற்றும் கரிசனைகள் தொடர்பான பிரச்சினைகளை கலந்துரையாடுவதற்கான பாதையை இந்து சமுத்திர கரையோர நாடுகளுக்கும், பாரிய கடல்வழி பாவனையாளர்களுக்கும் அமைத்துக் கொடுப்பதனை இலக்காகக் கொண்ட ‘இந்து சமுத்திரம்: எமது எதிர்காலத்தை வரையறுத்தல்’ மாநாடு 2018 ஒக்டோபர் 11 – 12ஆந் திகதிகளில் கொழும்பில் நடைபெறவுள்ளது.

உலகின் பணிமிகுதியானதும், நெருக்கடியான வணிக தாழ்வாரங்களில் ஒன்றாக இந்து சமுத்திரம் வளர்ச்சியடைந்து, உலகின் மூன்றில் இரண்டு பங்கு எண்ணெய் கப்பல் சரக்குகளையும், ஒரு பங்கு மொத்த சரக்குகளையும் ஏற்றிச்செல்வதன் வாயிலாக, மிகவும் நெருக்கடியான கடல் வழிக்கான தொடர்பாடலுக்கு அனுசரணையளித்து, உலகின் வணிகம் மற்றும் பொருளாதாரத்தின் வளர்ச்சியில் நேரடியாக தாக்கம் செலுத்தும் தருணமொன்றில் இந்த மாநாடு நடைபெறுகின்றது.

இந்து சமுத்திரம்: எமது எதிர்காலத்தை வரையறுத்தல் மாநாடானது, சர்வதேச பிரமுகர்கள், மற்றும் கரையோரம் மற்றும் அதற்கு அப்பாலுள்ள நாடுகளின் நிபுணர்களைக் கொண்ட இரண்டு நாள் கருத்தரங்கில் பிராந்தியத்தின் உறுதியான சவால்கள் மற்றும் சந்தர்ப்பங்களை கண்டறியவுள்ளது. இந்து சமுத்திரத்தில் இலங்கையின் புவியியல் அமைவிடம் மற்றும் சர்வதேச சமூகத்துடனான சமாதானமான ஈடுபாட்டிலான அதன் நீண்டகால வரலாறு ஆகியன, குறித்த சர்வதேச மாநாட்டிற்கான முக்கியமான மையமாக இலங்கையை மாற்றியுள்ளது.

அலரி மாளிகையில் இடம்பெறுவதற்கு அட்டவணைப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ள இந்த மாநாடானது, ஜனாதிபதி மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன அவர்களின் ஆதரவுடனான பிரதம மந்திரி ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க அவர்களின் ஒரு முயற்சியாகும்.

ஜனாதிபதி மைத்திரிபால சிறிசேன அவர்களினால் மாநாட்டின் அங்குரார்ப்பண உரை நிகழ்த்தப்படவுள்ளதுடன், பிரதமர் ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க அவர்கள் அடிப்படை குறிப்பு உரையை நிகழ்த்தவுள்ளார். அங்குரார்ப்பண அமர்வின் போது சமுத்திர தூதுவருக்கான ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் செயலாளர் நாயகத்தின் விஷேட தூதுவர் பீற்றர் தொம்சன் அவர்களும் உரை நிகழ்த்தவுள்ளார்.

‘இந்து சமுத்திரத்தின் பிரயாண சவால்கள் மற்றும் வாய்ப்புக்கள்: பகிரப்பட்ட புரிந்துணர்வு வாயிலாக’ என தலைப்பிடப்பட்டுள்ள அங்குரார்ப்பண குழுவானது இந்திய பிரதி தேசிய பாதுகாப்பு ஆலோசகர் பங்கஜ் சரண், ஐக்கிய அமெரிக்க அரச திணைக்களத்தின் பிரதான பிரதி உதவிச் செயலாளர் எலிஸ் ஜீ. வெல்ஸ் மற்றும் சீன வெளிநாட்டலுவல்கள் அமைச்சின்  எல்லைத் திணைக்களம் மற்றும் சமுத்திர விவகாரங்களுக்கான பணிப்பாளர் நாயகம் யி சியான்லியாங் மற்றும் தென்னாபிரிக்காவின் சர்வதேச உறவுகள் மற்றும் ஒத்துழைப்புக்கான பிரதி பணிப்பாளர் நாயகம் மற்றும் இந்து சமுத்திர விளிம்பு சங்கத்தின் சிரேஷ்ட உத்தியோகத்தர்களுக்கான குழுவின் தவிசாளர் கலாநிதி அனில் சூக்லால் ஆகிய அடிப்படை கொள்கை வகுப்பாளர்களை உள்ளடக்கவுள்ளது.

உரையாற்றுபவர்களும், பங்குபற்றுபவர்களும் தமது கலந்துரையாடல்களில், இந்து சமுத்திரத்தின் பொருளாதாரம்: உலகின் புதிய வளர்ச்சித்துருவம்; நீருக்கு கீழான வாழ்க்கை: அபிவிருத்தி பரப்பாக சமுத்திரங்களை பலப்படுத்துதல்; தெளிவின்மைக்கான ஒரு நிறைவு: கடலில் பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் அபாயமின்மை; மற்றும் இந்து சமுத்திரத்தில் சர்வதேச சட்டத்தை பலப்படுத்துதல்: கடல்சார் சட்டம் பற்றிய ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் சாசனம் மற்றும் வளர்ந்து வரும் பிரச்சினைகள் ஆகிய தலைப்புக்களிலான நான்கு விடயப்பரப்புக்களில் கவனம் செலுத்தவுள்ளனர்.

இந்த மாநாட்டின் செயற்பாடுகளை கட்டியெழுப்புவதற்காகவும், இந்து சமுத்திரத்தின் பாரியளவிலான சமாதானம், பாதுகாப்பு மற்றும் செழுமைக்கு பங்களிப்புச் செய்யும் கரையோர நாடுகள் மற்றும் பாரிய கடல்வழி பாவனையாளர்களுக்கு மத்தியிலான புரிந்துணர்வின் வாயிலாக நகர்தல் ஆகியவற்றுக்காக, அடுத்த வருடத்தின் ஆரம்பத்தில் இலங்கையில் நடைபெறவுள்ள பல்தரப்பு இராஜதந்திர மாநாட்டிற்கான முன்னோடியாக இந்த மாநாடு அமைகின்றது.

இவ்வாறான நிகழ்வுகள் பிராந்தியத்தின் வாணிப, கணிப்பியல் திட்ட மற்றும் நிதியியல் மையமாக இலங்கையை மாற்றுவதற்கான அரசாங்கத்தின் கொள்கைகளை மேலும் விஸ்தரிக்கும் வகையில் அமையும் என எதிர்பார்க்கப்படுகின்றது.

கொள்கை வகுப்பாளர்கள், சிரேஷ்ட அரச அதிகாரிகள் மற்றும் கல்வியாளர்களை உள்ளடக்கியுள்ள தடம் 1.5 பயிற்சியான இந்த மாநாடானது, போதைப்பொருள் மற்றும் குற்றம் பற்றிய ஐக்கிய நாடுகள் அலுவலகத்தின் ஒத்துழைப்புடன், பிரதம மந்திரியின் அலுவலகம், வெளிநாட்டலுவல்கள் அமைச்சு மற்றும் லக்ஷ்மன் கதிர்காமர் நிறுவகம் ஆகியவற்றினால் ஏற்பாடு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.

May the Noble Triple Gem bless all of you !

Mr. President,

Mr. Secretary-General,

Distinguished Heads of State,

Distinguished Delegates,

Friends,

I am extremely pleased to participate in the 73^rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly representing Sri Lanka for the fourth consecutive occasion.  Sri Lanka, as a Member State of the United Nations, is fully committed to adhere to its Charter, Conventions and Agreements and their implementation.

As Head of State, I am pleased to note the progress that has been made by Sri Lanka and my government during the past three-and-a-half years. When I was elected by the people of Sri Lanka as Head of State in January 2015, the Executive Office that I hold today, had excessive powers, which were comparable to those of a king, or even an emperor.  I am pleased to state that I was able to relinquish these emperor-like excessive powers and transfer them to the Parliament of Sri Lanka, fulfilling the utmost duty of an elected leader.

During the past three-and-a-half years, democracy has been strengthened in my country.  In addition, human rights, freedom of the people and the media as well as the independence of the judiciary have been strengthened. Therefore, the Sri Lanka of today is not what it used to be three-and-a-half years ago. I can clearly state that the Sri Lanka of today is a society which is more inclusive and humane.

We, as Member States of the United Nations, must consider it as our duty and responsibility to comprehensively study and reflect upon the contemporary political developments, economic disparities, and common challenges faced by humanity.When speaking of international political developments and trends, we must in particular focus our attention on refugees that have become a global issue as there are a large number of refugees all over the world. Therefore, I believe that the efforts of the United Nations, its Member States and other organizations dealing with the issues related to refugees must be broader and more effective.

Sri Lanka is a country that follows moderate policies with regard to the exercise of its foreign policy. We are a senior member of the Non-Aligned Movement. The 1976 Non-Aligned Summit, which is considered one of the most successful, was held in Sri Lanka. Within the framework of non-alignment, we consider all nations of the world as friends. I am glad to note that Sri Lanka does not have adversaries in the contemporary world.

When discussing international political issues, we must especially mention the issue of the Palestinian people. I believe that the United Nations and the world powers should approach this issue with greater understanding and attention. Successive governments in Sri Lanka have supported the liberation struggle of the Palestinian people. I believe that the United Nations and all Member States should adopt a more humane approach when advocating for the rights of the Palestinian people, and taking into account the inhumane conditions they face, approach this issue in a broader manner.

We all know that poverty is one of the fundamental problems affecting the world. I am of the view that the United Nations can do more to address the issue of poverty. We know that today, hundreds of millions of people across the world suffer from hunger. Climate change, income disparities, and certain shortcomings of governments to fulfill obligations towards their citizens, are among the key causes of poverty. The negative effects of climate change on economies have further exacerbated this problem. Therefore, it is essential to assist and support countries which are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. I must mention that just as poverty plays a central role in many problems that plague the world, trafficking in weapons, illicit drugs and narcotics have also become grave threats to humanity.

In this context, I am pleased about the agreement reached under the auspices of the United Nations and the leadership of the US President Donald Trump on a ‘Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem’, yesterday. It is necessary that all countries do more towards combating illicit drugs with the assistance of the United Nations, as a matter of priority.

Within the framework of action of the United Nations, we must all work at national and international levels towards the implementation of the agreed outcomes of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, finalized under the guidance of the former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, for the benefit of humanity as well as other living beings, our streams and rivers, and planet Earth as a whole. I must state that Sri Lanka, as a UN Member State, gives utmost priority to these endeavours.

Speaking of internal matters of my beloved motherland, as I stated earlier, we have broadly strengthened democracy, human rights, fundamental rights and media freedom in the country. We must reflect on the situation of our country that prevailed forty years ago, and on the conflict that lasted for nearly thirty-years. It has been almost ten years since terrorism and armed conflict ended. During these ten years we have undertaken a broad range of reforms.  My government in particular, has implemented several important steps in the post-conflict context. We have implemented, and continue to implement many programmes aimed at fostering national harmony and reconciliation, and ensuring non-recurrence of conflict. As a country that has fulfilled and continues to fulfill our human rights obligations, we respectfully request the United Nations and all other countries to continue to assist us in our endeavours.

Sri Lanka’s security forces defeated one of the most ruthless terrorist organizations in the world. As a result, Sri Lanka remains an undivided country that enjoys sustainable peace. Therefore, I must respectfully recall the yeoman service rendered by our security forces in defeating a dreaded terrorist organization, and I take this opportunity to thank our security forces for their great sacrifices in ushering peace and ensuring territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. At a time when almost ten years have passed since the end of the conflict, I call upon the international community to look at my country from a new perspective with new ideas. I call on you all to refresh your views on my noble motherland and assist us in our efforts towards achieving economic development, prosperity, and a secure future as a country at peace following a deadly conflict; as a country that is strengthening national reconciliation; as a country where national harmony prevails; as a country that has taken and continues to take every possible step to prevent recurrence of another conflict; and as a country that protects and upholds human rights.

I respectfully request you to allow us the opportunity to resolve our own issues. The independence of a country is of paramount importance. I seek your support in our efforts, including in strengthening democracy and enhancing human development, while respecting our sovereignty. The sacrifices we have made and the initiatives we have taken in this regard are important for us in resolving our issues. As an independent country, we do not require foreign interference or threats. As a strong nation, we request all of you to allow us space to resolve our problems and to progress as an independent country. In this context, once again I wish to reiterate our request for your assistance and support for us to resolve our own issues as Sri Lankans. I further request your support in the efforts of my government to alleviate fear and suspicion among the communities living in our beloved motherland, and to build greater harmony.

As I stated before, it is imperative to accord priority to address the issues of people in Sri Lanka and the world over who are poverty-stricken. We must find solutions to their problems, taking into consideration the ideas and thoughts of the younger generation.

Considering all of the above, I wish to finally reflect on what Lord Buddha stated in the Salla Sutta of the Samyuktha Nikaya in the Thripitaka where it is said that a man pierced by a dart suffers twice: firstly, the physical pain caused by the dart, and secondly the mental agony caused in recollecting the act. Similarly, the people of Sri Lanka have suffered both the physical pain of the prolonged conflict as well as the mental agony caused by the recollection of those unfortunate experiences. Therefore, it is no one else but the people of Sri Lanka who need to be relieved of this pain. In conclusion, I respectfully request all to extend support to my people and country to progress towards a  just, fair, equitable and humane society with economic prosperity, alleviating the pain that my people have endured.

Thank you. May the Noble Triple Gem bless you.

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake represents Sri Lanka at the Bled Strategic Forum -2018 in Slovenia

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake visited Slovenia at the invitation of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia Karl Erjavec to attend the 13^th Bled Strategic Forum, which was held on 10-11 September 2018. The theme of this year’s Forum was “Bridging the Divide”.

State Minister Senanayake was a panellist at the panel discussion on “Alone we fail: Working together for a sustainable future”. The panel consisted of high level speakers drawn from different countries representing governments, academia, civil society and the corporate sector.

The State Minister, in his address, focused on the importance of using renewable energy sources, i.e. hydropower, wind and solar power, including bio fertilizer in agriculture as viable solutions for ensuring long term energy and food security. He also underlined the necessity to preserve the health of the natural environment and its biodiversity, as it is the primary resource on the planet. The State Minister further highlighted that protection of the marine ecosystem was also a global priority.

During the bilateral segment, State Minister Senanayake met with State Secretary Andrej Logar of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Slovenia. During the discussions, he reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to further consolidate ties between the two countries, and discussed ways of advancing cooperation in the cultural, scientific, educational, trade and investment sectors. The talks also focused on promoting shared interests at multilateral fora.

On the sidelines of the Bled Strategic Forum, State Minister Senanayake met with former Foreign Minister of the Republic of Argentina Susanna Malcorra and discussed ways to promote shared interests within the framework of South-South Cooperation. He also provided a detailed overview of the steps being taken by the National Unity Government to strengthen democracy, promote reconciliation and ensure sustainable socio-economic development.

State Minister Senanayake also met with Deputy Foreign Minister of Macedonia Andrej Zhernovski and reviewed bilateral cooperation between Sri Lanka and Macedonia.

Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Slovenia accredited from Austria and Embassy officials were associated with the State Minister during the visit.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

21 September 2018

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විදේශ කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය වසන්ත සේනානායක මහතා ස්ලෝවේනියාවේ පැවැති බ්ලෙඩ් උපාය මාර්ගික සමුළුව – 2018 සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාව නියෝජනය කරමින් සහභාගී වෙයි

ස්ලෝවේනියාවේ නියෝජ්‍ය අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය හා විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය කාල් එර්යාවෙක් මහතාගේ ඇරයුමෙන්, 2018 සැප්තැම්බර් 10-11 යන දිනවල පැවැති 13 වැනි බ්ලෙඩ් උපාය මාර්ගික සමුළුවට සහභාගී වීම සඳහා විදේශ කටයුතු රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය වසන්ත සේනානායක මහතා ස්ලෝවේනියාවේ සංචාරයක නිරත විය. එම සමුළුවේ තේමාව වූයේ “බෙදීම් යා කිරීම” යන්නයි.

රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය සේනානායක මහතා “තනිව අප අසාර්ථකය : තිරසර අනාගතයක් උදෙසා එක්ව කටයුතු කිරීම” යන මැයෙන් පැවැති සාකච්ඡාවේ, සාකච්ඡා මණ්ඩල සාමාජිකයකු ලෙස කටයුතු කළේය. මෙම සාකච්ඡා මණ්ඩලය රාජ්‍යයන්, විද්වතුන්, සිවිල් සමාජය හා පෞද්ගලික අංශය නියෝජනය කරමින් විවිධ රටවලින් සහභාගී වූ ඉහළ පෙළේ කථිකයන්ගෙන් සමන්විත විය.

දිගුකාලීන බලශක්ති හා ආහාර සුරක්ෂිතතාව සහතික කිරීම සඳහා වන සාර්ථක විසැඳුම් ලෙස කෘෂිකර්මාන්තයේදී ජෛව පොහොර භාවිතය ඇතුළු, ජල විදුලිය, සුළං හා සූර්ය ශක්තිය ආදී පුනර්ජනනීය බලශක්ති ප්‍රභවයන් භාවිතා කිරීමේ වැදගත්කම පිළිබඳව රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා සිය කතාවේදී අවධානය යොමු කළේය. ස්වභාවික පරිසරය පෘථිවියේ මූලික සම්පත වන බැවින් ස්වභාවික පරිසරය හා එහි ජෛව විවිධත්වය ආරක්ෂා කිරීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව පිළිබඳවද රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා මෙහිදී කරුණු දැක්වීය. සමුද්‍ර පරිසර පද්ධතිය ආරක්ෂා කිරීමද ගෝලීය ප්‍රමුඛතාව හිමිවිය යුතු කරුණක් බව රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා තවදුරටත් අවධාරණය කළේය.

ද්විපාර්ශ්වික වශයෙන් රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය සේනානායක මහතා ස්ලෝවේනියාවේ විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ රාජ්‍ය ලේකම් අන්ද්‍රෙයි ලොගාර් මහතා හමුවිය. දෙරට අතර සබඳතා තවදුරටත් තහවුරු කිරීම සඳහා ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ ඇති කැපවීම පිළිබඳව සඳහන් කළ රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා, සංස්කෘතික, විද්‍යාත්මක, අධ්‍යාපනික වෙළෙඳ හා ආයෝජන අංශයන්හි සහයෝගීතාව වැඩිදියුණු කිරීමේ මාර්ග පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කළේය. බහුපාර්ශ්වීය සමුළුවලදී පොදු අභිලාෂයන් ප්‍රවර්ධනය කිරීම පිළිබඳවද මෙහිදී සාකච්ඡා කෙරිණි.

බ්ලෙඩ් උපායමාර්ගික සමුළුව අතරතුරදී, රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය සේනානායක මහතා ආජෙන්ටිනාවේ හිටපු විදේශ ඇමැතිනි සුසානා මල්කෝරා මහත්මියද මුණගැසුණු අතර දකුණු-දකුණු සහයෝගීතා රාමුව තුළ පොදු අභිලාෂයන් ප්‍රවර්ධනය කළ හැකි මං පිළිබඳව සාකච්ඡා කළේය. ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදය ශක්තිමත් කිරීමට, සංහිඳියාව ප්‍රවර්ධනය කිරීමට හා තිරසර සමාජ-ආර්ථික සංවර්ධනය සහතික කිරීමට ජාතික සම්මුතිවාදී රජය විසින් ගන්නා ලද පියවර පිළිබඳව මෙහිදී රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා විස්තරාත්මක දළ විශ්ලේෂණයක්ද ඉදිරිපත් කළේය.

රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය සේනානායක මහතා මැසිඩෝනියාවේ නියෝජ්‍ය විදේශ අමාත්‍ය අන්ද්‍රෙයි ෂෙර්නොව්ස්කි මහතාද මුණගැසුණු අතර ශ්‍රී ලංකාව හා මැසිඩෝනියාව අතර ද්විපාර්ශ්වික සහයෝගීතාව පිළිබඳ සමාලෝචනයක් සිදුකළේය.

ඔස්ට්‍රියාවේ සිට අක්ත ගන්වනු ලැබූ ස්ලෝවේනියාවේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා තානාපතිනිය හා තානාපති කාර්යාලයේ නිලධාරීහු මෙම රැස්වීම්වලට රාජ්‍ය අමාත්‍යවරයා සමඟ සහභාගී වූහ.

විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය

කොළඹ

2018 සැප්තැම්බර් 21 වැනිදා

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வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் இராஜாங்க அமைச்சர் வசந்த சேனாநாயக்க அவர்கள் ஸ்லோவேனியாவில் இடம்பெறும் பிளெட் மூலோபாய கருத்துக்களம் – 2018இல் இலங்கையை பிரதிநிதித்துவப்படுத்துகின்றார்

2018 செப்டெம்பர் 10 – 11 வரையான காலப்பகுதியில் இடம்பெற்ற 13வது பிளெட் மூலோபாய கருத்துக்களத்தில் பங்குபற்றுவதற்காக, ஸ்லோவேனியாவின் பிரதி பிரதம மந்திரியும், வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சருமான கார்ல் எர்ஜாவக் அவர்களின் அழைப்பின் பேரில், வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் இராஜாங்க அமைச்சர் வசந்த சேனாநாயக்க அவர்கள் ஸ்லோவேனியாவிற்கு விஜயம் ஒன்றினை மேற்கொண்டிருந்தார். இந்த வருடத்திற்கான கருத்துக்களத்தின் தலைப்பு ‘பிரிவுகளை இணைத்தல்’ ஆகும்.

‘தனித்து செயற்பட்டால் தோல்வியுறுவோம்: நிலையான எதிர்காலத்திற்காக ஒன்றாக செயற்படுதல்’ என்ற தலைப்பில் இடம்பெற்ற குழு விவாதத்தில், இராஜாங்க அமைச்சர் சேனாநாயக்க அவர்கள் ஒரு அங்கத்தவராக காணப்பட்டார். பல்வேறு நாடுகளின் அரசாங்கங்கள், கல்வித்துறை, சிவில் சமூகம் மற்றும் பெருநிறுவனத்துறையை பிரதிநிதித்துவப்படுத்தும் உயர் மட்ட பேச்சாளர்களை இந்தக் குழு உள்ளடக்கியிருந்தது.

நீண்டகால வலு மற்றும் உணவுப் பாதுகாப்பினை உறுதிப்படுத்துவதற்கான சாத்தியமான தீர்வாக விவசாயத்துறையில் உயிரியல் உர வகைகளை பயன்படுத்துதல் உள்ளடங்கலாக நீர் வலு, காற்று மற்றும் சூரிய வலு போன்ற புதுப்பிக்கக்கூடிய வலு மூலங்களை பயன்படுத்துவதன் முக்கியத்துவம் குறித்து இராஜாங்க அமைச்சர் தனது உரையில் கவனம் செலுத்தினார். பூமியின் அடிப்படை வளம் என்ற வகையில் இயற்கைச் சுற்றாடல் மற்றும் அதன் உயிர்ப்பல்வகைமையின் சுகாதாரத்தை பாதுகாப்பதற்கான தேவைப்பாட்டினை அவர் மேலும் வலியுறுத்தினார். மேலும், கடல்வளச் சூழலின் பாதுகாப்பும் கூட புவியின் முக்கியமானதொரு அம்சம் என இராஜாங்க அமைச்சர் சிறப்பித்துக் கூறினார்.

இருதரப்பு அமர்வின் போது, இராஜாங்க அமைச்சர் வசந்த சேனாநாயக்க அவர்கள் ஸ்லோவேனியாவின் வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சின் இராஜாங்க செயலாளர் அன்ட்ரஜ் லொகார் அவர்களை சந்தித்தார். கலந்துரையாடல்களின் போது, இரு நாடுகளினதும் உறவுகளை மேலும் ஒருங்கிணைப்பதற்கான இலங்கையின் ஈடுபாட்டை அவர் மீள உறுதிப்படுத்தியதுடன், கலாச்சாரம், விஞ்ஞானம், கல்வி, வர்த்தகம் மற்றும் முதலீட்டுத் துறைகளில் ஒத்துழைப்புக்களை மேம்படுத்துவதற்கான வழிகள் தொடர்பிலும் கலந்துரையாடினார். பல்தரப்பு விடயங்களில் பகிரப்பட்ட ஈடுபாடுகளை மேம்படுத்துவது தொடர்பிலும் இந்த கலந்துரையாடலில் கவனம் செலுத்தப்பட்டது.

பிளெட் மூலோபாய கருத்துக்களத்தின் இணைப்பாக, இராஜாங்க அமைச்சர் சேனாநாயக்க அவர்கள் ஆர்ஜன்டீனா குடியரசின் முன்னாள் வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சர் சுசன்னா மல்கொர்ரா அவர்களை சந்தித்து, தெற்கு – தெற்கு ஒத்துழைப்பிற்கான பகிரப்பட்ட ஈடுபாடுகளை மேம்படுத்துவதற்கான வழிமுறைகள் குறித்து கலந்துரையாடினார். ஜனநாயகத்தை வலுப்படுத்துதல், நல்லிணக்கத்தை மேம்படுத்துதல் மற்றும் நிலையான சமூக – பொருளாதார அபிவிருத்தியை உறுதிப்படுத்துதல் ஆகியவற்றுக்காக தேசிய ஒற்றுமை அரசாங்கத்தினால் முன்னெடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ள நடவடிக்கைகளின் விபரிக்கப்பட்ட கண்ணோட்டத்தை அவர் மேலும் வழங்கினார்.

இராஜாங்க அமைச்சர் சேனாநாயக்க அவர்கள் மசிடோனியாவின் பிரதி வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சர் அன்ட்ரெஜ் ஸேர்னோவ்ஸ்கியை மேலும் சந்தித்ததுடன், இலங்கை மற்றும் மசிடோனியாவிற்கு இடையிலான இருதரப்பு ஒத்துழைப்புக்களை மீள்பார்வை செய்தார்.

இந்த விஜயத்தின் போது, ஒஸ்ட்ரியாவிற்கு சான்றளிக்கப்பட்டுள்ள ஸ்லோவேனியாவிற்கான இலங்கைத் தூதுவர் மற்றும் தூதரக உத்தியோகத்தர்கள் இராஜாங்க அமைச்சருடன் இணைந்திருந்தனர்.

வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சு

கொழும்பு

21 செப்டெம்பர் 2018

Sri Lanka Agriculture Exhibition 11^th – 16^th December 2018 – BMICH Colombo, Sri Lanka

The Ministry of Agriculture of Sri Lanka is organizing an Agriculture Exhibition for six days from 11^th to 16^th December 2018 at the Bandaranayke Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo.

The exhibition will showcase a wide spectrum of Agriculture Products & Services including machinery and tools, bio technology, agro ecology, protected houses, irrigation and water management, floriculture, home garden, urban agriculture, plant protection, landscaping, pest management, fertilizer and chemicals, organic agriculture, post-harvest technology, software and hardware, marketing and export services and seed technology, etc.

His Excellency Maithripala Sirisena will be the Chief Guest at the Inauguration Ceremony.

Foreign and local exhibitors are invited to attend.

The Exhibition will be held in both indoor and outdoor areas of the exhibition site.

Price per 3m x 3m space – US$200 PER DAY (6 days) =US$1200

Any further information or clarifications on this event please feel free to contact:

Dr. Rohan Wijekoon – Consultant Agriculture Sector Modernization Project

Email:  rwije1958@gmail.com         Mobile: +94715328281 and

Mrs. Nimalka Morahela – Event Manager

Email:  nimalka65@gmail.com        Mobile +94773157688

Please visit www.asmp.lk for further information.

Addressing the Eighth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munition today, Ambassador A.L.A Azeez, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to working towards achieving universalization and to advancement of the objectives of the Convention. The Meeting of States Parties welcomed Sri Lanka as the 103rd State Party, and looked forward to Sri Lanka’s leadership in humanitarian disarming.

The text of the full Statement delivered by Ambassador Abdul Azeez is as follows:

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Mr. President,

Sri Lanka is pleased to join this meeting which marks the culmination of a successful tenure of Nicaragua as the President of the 8^th Meeting of the States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). Your commitment to take forward the objectives of the CCM since Nicaragua was selected as President in September last year is deeply appreciated.  We assure you, Mr. President, of our continued cooperation and active contribution during the Meeting of the States Parties, in a spirit of constructive engagement and dialogue that we manifest in our partnership with all treaty mechanisms.

We take this opportunity to thank the ‘Coordinators on Universalization’, France and Panama, for their excellent efforts, supported by the Implementation Support Unit (ISU), towards promoting universalization.  We welcome Namibia, as the newest State Party to the Convention, today.

Sri Lanka is proud to be part of the disarmament community, with our active participation as a State Party, at this 8^th Meeting today.   We acceded to the Convention on 1 March 2018, as the 103^rd State Party, after high level policy decision taken. As a country that has never used cluster munitions, Sri Lanka has always remained committed to the humanitarian imperatives of the Convention.  We had participated at the previous States Party Meetings including the 2015 Review Conference only as an Observer.  We appreciate the support, guidance and cooperation received from all stakeholders including the civil society, during this process.

Mr. President,

As we deliberate on Agenda Item – ‘Review of the status and operation of the Convention and other matters important for achieving the aims of the Convention’, we consider Namibia’s accession to the Convention as the 104^th State Party a timely step, being the next country to join the Convention after Sri Lanka.  This action by Namibia and accessions by other States in recent times mark a significant milestone in continuing efforts toward universalization of the CCM, particularly as the first decade of the Convention is being celebrated. As the primary objective of the Convention is to address humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm caused by cluster munitions to civilians, through prohibition of all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of this injurious and indiscriminate weapon, every effort towards universalization must be celebrated as a positive step.

In this context, Mr. President, we note the target set for achieving 130 accessions by the Second Review Conference of the CCM in 2020, as stipulated in the Dubrovnik Action Plan. Sri Lanka stands ready to engage in efforts to garner support for the accession and adherence to the Convention, including through working together on a draft Resolution on Cluster Munitions at the General Assembly, building upon the good work done by the previous Presidents of the meetings of States Parties. Further, as a country that is proactively engaged in building peace and advancing reconciliation following the end of conflict in May 2009, Sri Lanka is pleased to share its experiences including progress made in implementation of national initiatives, as well as challenges faced and collective efforts taken to address them, that had led to the accession process making Sri Lanka a State Party to this important humanitarian disarmament framework.  It is pertinent to highlight that during our internal engagement and consultation with all stakeholders including the civil society, it was realized that accession to the CCM was the natural and rational step that Sri Lanka could take, having acceded to the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. The latter culminated through a national process that was delicately undertaken, respecting the needs of civilians and the national security imperative.

Mr. President,

We would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the excellent cooperation and technical support extended by the Implementation Support Unit (ISU), in taking forward the universalization efforts and follow-up action. We are confident that the active role and contribution of ISU would further strengthen as universalization efforts gather momentum in the 10^th year of the adoption of the Convention.

On the aspect of ‘international cooperation and assistance’, we believe that all requests for assistance need to be met in line with the humanitarian and sustainable development strategies and programmes of the recipient countries.  This is important to ensure that cooperation efforts will not only yield results- including better quality of life for victims, safety, minimized environmental impacts and predictable socio-economic development, but also encourage confidence-building and peacebuilding. Further, our collective efforts towards meaningful action in prohibiting one of the disastrous conventional weapon category – cluster munitions, would go a long way in ensuring the effective realization of the  Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 16 on ‘promoting peaceful, just, and inclusive societies’.

In conclusion Mr. President, it is important that all stakeholders avail of the opportunity presented by the 8^th Meeting of States Parties, to go beyond business as usual, and provide momentum to collective efforts aimed at realizing the objectives and norms set forth in the Convention.

Thank you, Mr. President.