SL Prime Minister to attend UN general assembly

[TamilNet, Monday, 21 September 2009, 17:43 GMT]
Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake will be heading the Sri Lankan delegation to the 64th session of the United Nations (UN) general assembly. He is scheduled to address the general assembly on September 26 on “Strengthening of Multilateralism and Dialogue among Civilizations for International Peace, Security and Development”, according to foreign ministry spokesman.

The Prime Minister is also expected to meet the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Meanwhile, the President’s office remained tight-lipped over the decision of President Mahinda Rajapakse not to attend the General Assembly of the UN, sources in Colombo said.

“A combination of external and internal factors like concerns on security, the continuing deficit trust between Colombo and the West on the one hand and the U.N. on the other on a variety of issues like the pace of the re-settlement of the nearly 2.5 lakhs war displaced and human rights and election to the Southern Provincial Council scheduled for October 10 have contributed to the considered decision of Mr. Rajapakse to depute his PM to New York,” the sources further said.