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The present government is committed to developing the country as an independent, sovereign, free and unitary state - Minister Dinesh Gunawardena

Sunday, 14 March 2021

Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena stated that the present Government is committed to the development of the country while protecting the independent, sovereign, free and unitary state. He made these remarks while speaking at the opening ceremony of the Eastern Provincial Regional Consular Office of the Foreign Ministry in Trincomalee.

“The Governor has taken steps to provide equal rights to all the people of the country as a unitary state, including the North and the East. Thirty years of terrorism has disrupted life in these areas and development had declined. However, following the defeat of LTTE terrorism, steps were taken to develop these areas during the time of Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The people have not forgotten how the water supply system in the Muttur area was restored and how the service was provided to the people of this area by setting up a hospital in a ship received from the Italian government docked at the Trincomalee harbour during the tsunami disaster that befell on our country. The present government is resuming development activities that were started after the victory of the war and is working currently to improve the living standards of the people in this area. At that time, we solved the water problem in Trincomalee through the Kantale water supply scheme. Presently, our government is taking steps to provide the facilities available in Colombo to the villages as well. We all must work together to make the vision ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’ a reality and develop the country. The people know that under our government, we work to make all people be able to live happily. Our humanistic programme receives international support. We urge you not to act in a way that undermines that support. It is to develop this country that the majority of the people in this country have given us power and helped us to form a strong government in the last Presidential election as well as in the General election.”

Is internal displacement accepted as a fact of life? - H.E. Mohan Pieris, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations at the UNSG's High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement - Consultation on Peace and Security Dimensions of

Thursday, 11 March 2021

Media Statement

Wednesday, 10 March 2021

There have been reports on social media platforms in regard to an invitation extended to the Foreign Minister of Myanmar to attend the 17th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting hosted virtually on 1st April 2021, in Colombo. 

Sri  Lanka  as the Chair of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and the host of the Ministerial Meeting has  invited  all Member States (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal and  Thailand) to participate in the discussions  in order to finalise  documents  of the 5th BIMSTEC Summit  expected  to be  held  later  this  year in Sri Lanka.

Foreign Ministry

Colombo

10 March 2021

‘ We owe a debt of gratitude to the women of the world’ - H.E. Mohan Pieris, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations at the Security Council Open Arria-formula Meeting

Tuesday, 09 March 2021

‘ We owe a debt of gratitude to the women of the world’ - H.E. Mohan Pieris, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations  at the Security Council Open Arria-formula Meeting - Call to Lead by Example: Ensuring the Full, Equal and Meaningful Participation of Women in UN-led Peace Processes Introduction – 08th March 2021

“Public have a fundamental right to be protected from terrorism”- Statement by H.E. Mohan Peiris, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN at the Consultations on the Seventh Biennial Review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy

Saturday, 06 March 2021

Mr. President,

I thank the Permanent Representatives of Spain and Oman for the fine role that they are playing as co-facilitators of the Seventh Review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. I also wish to thank the United Nations Under-Secretary-General of the UN Office of Counter-Terrorism for the presentation on the comprehensive Report by the UN Secretary-General on the activities of the UN system in implementing the Strategy.

As we gather here today, in this Assembly Hall, and deliberate on this most important subject, I was wondering how many amongst us, would have personally experienced in some form or another the real horrible effects of terrorism. Some of us may have experienced it more than others. For some of our fellow citizens back at home, at one point in time it may have even become a way of life, as it might be the case even today for some of our Member States. The fear of getting on a public transport to get to work, the fear of sending your child to school, anxiously waiting for your loved ones to return home safely, the ability to go about your daily work without fear or anxiety is common in certain parts of our world, even as we speak.

Mr. President, when your fellow citizens are unable to lead their lives without the guarantee of their most fundamental rights, what is a responsible government constitutionally mandated to do? How should it respond? This was the dilemma facing the Government of Sri Lanka. For nearly 30 years we tried a cocktail of mechanisms from peace talks to ceasefires with the aid of our interlocutors, however the high price, to bring the group of non-state actors responsible for their extremely brutal terror tactics to the table, into the democratic fold. Regrettably all these efforts did not work. Innocent men, women and children continued to be terrorized, lost their lives and we witnessed the loss of public assets. Their distorted ideologies continued to incite hatred along ethnic lines even as I speak sitting in the comfort of jurisdictions outside. Finally, the Government had no choice but to carry out the humanitarian operation in 2009 that finally liberated the people of Sri Lanka from the clutches of that group of non-state actors.

Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Sri Lanka and Liechtenstein

Friday, 05 March 2021

Upon the signing of the Joint Communiqué by H.E. Mohan Pieris, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and H.E. Mr. Christian Wenaweser, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, the Governments of Sri Lanka and the Principality of Liechtenstein have decided to establish Diplomatic Relations between the two countries with effect from 05 March 2021. In view of the COVID related restrictions, the ceremony was held today in a virtual format. 

The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, H.E. Mohan Pieris (right) and the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, H.E. Christian Wenaweser (left) signing the Joint Communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Liechtenstein on 05 March 2021.

 

The Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, H.E. Mohan Pieris and the Ambassador and Permanent Representative  of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, H.E. Christian Wenaweser with the signed copies of the Joint Communiqué on the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Liechtenstein

 

The establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Liechtenstein would enhance the existing friendly relations and cooperation in the political, socio-economic and cultural fields for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

New York, 05 March 2021

Statement by H.E. Mohan Peiris, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka at the UNSC Arria Formula Meeting: “Upholding the collective security systems of the UN Charter: the use of force in international law, non-state actors and legitimate self-defense”

Thursday, 25 February 2021

Statement by Hon. Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Agenda Item 2: Interactive Dialogue on the OHCHR Report ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’ (A/HRC/46/20) 24th February 2021

Wednesday, 24 February 2021

Madam President,

Madam High Commissioner,

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The OHCHR Report which is presented today, emanates from the Resolution 30/1 and 40/1, from which the Government of Sri Lanka announced its withdrawal of co-sponsorship, at the 43rd Session of this Council last year.

Sri Lanka rejects the High Commissioner’s Report which has unjustifiably broadened its scope and mandate further, incorporating many issues of governance and matters that are essentially domestic for any self-respecting, sovereign country. This is in complete violation of Article 2 (7) of the Charter of the UN that states: “Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state…”

The trajectory that has emerged with regard to the recommendations and conclusions reflects the preconceived, politicized and prejudicial agenda which certain elements have relentlessly pursued against Sri Lanka. These recommendations are based on ill-founded allegations.

Sri Lanka categorically rejects the conclusions and recommendations in the High Commissioner’s Report.