U.S. Assistant Secretary of State to visit Sri Lanka

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 May 2006, 10:50 GMT]
The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Ambassador Richard A. Boucher, will visit Sri Lanka on June 1, 2006 after attending the meeting of Tokyo donors co-chairs group, a press release issued by the US Embassy in Colombo Tuesday said. Mr. Boucher will meet with Sri Lankan government officials and businessmen to discuss the current political and economic climate in the country, as well as review the state of bilateral relations, the release added.

Full text of the press release follows:

COLOMBO, May 30, 2006— The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Ambassador Richard A. Boucher, will visit Sri Lanka on June 1, 2006. Mr. Boucher will meet with Sri Lankan government officials and businessmen to discuss the current political and economic climate in the country, as well as review the state of bilateral relations. Ambassador Boucher is currently attending the meeting of the Tokyo Donors Co-Chairs group in Tokyo. This will be Ambassador Boucher’s first visit to Sri Lanka in his capacity as Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs. Mr. Boucher previously visited Sri Lanka in January 2005, with then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, while serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs.

Ambassador Boucher is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister. He most recently served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs at the Department of State. Prior to this, he served as the United States Senior Official for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. Ambassador Boucher served as U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus and Consul General in Hong Kong. Earlier in his career, he served as Deputy Principal Officer in Shanghai, China. Ambassador Boucher received his bachelor's degree from Tufts University.