Address by His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka at the 72nd Independence Day celebrations
Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn met with the Minister of Foreign Relations Dinesh Gunawardena at the Foreign Ministry today for bilateral discussions. Luxembourg extended felicitations to the new Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Minister Asselborn, who is the longest serving Foreign Minister in Europe and Dean of the European Foreign Ministers’ corps, is the first European Foreign Minister to visit Sri Lanka since the election of the new President.
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Mr. Jean Asselborn will arrive in Sri Lanka on 30th January 2020 for bilateral discussions with Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. This is the first high level official visit from Luxembourg to Sri Lanka since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1972.
Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha has said the Chinese Government is expediting the request made for a special aircraft landing in Wuhan City which will allow the evacuation of the Sri Lankan students and their family members. He said the Embassy in Beijing is in communication with the Hubei Foreign Office and Wuhan Municipality to ensure the wellbeing of the Sri Lankans in these areas, pending their repatriation.
State Minister for International Cooperation Susil Premajayantha led the Sri Lanka delegation to the Twelfth Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) held in Quito, Ecuador from 20-24 January 2020.
Certain International media channels had reported to the effect that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa had stated that 20,000 listed as missing are dead. In all these reports however, the crucial detail that necessary investigations would be conducted before a death certificate would be issued had been wittingly or unwittingly omitted. Furthermore, neither President Rajapaksa nor Ms Singer discussed a number. The subject was discussed in very general terms
Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena conveyed Sri Lanka’s appreciation for the development partnership United States has extended to Sri Lanka as well as respect and appreciation for the democratic processes in the country. He articulated these sentiments during discussions in Colombo with US Principal Assistant Secretary of State Ambassador Alice Wells at the Ministry of Foreign Relations this (14 January) morning.
The Chinese Foreign Minister & State Councilor Wang Yi met with the Minister of Foreign Relations Dinesh Gunawardena at the Foreign Ministry on 14 January 2020, where China reiterated its solidarity and support to the new Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
