Sri Lankan Parliamentary delegation visits Berlin

(December 19, Berlin, Sri Lanka Guardian) A five member parliamentary delegation comprising Priyankara Jayaratne, Deputy Speaker of the Parliament, Dilan Perera, Minister of Port Development, Rohitha Abeygunawardena, Minister of Nation Building, Duminda Dissanayake, Minister of Petroleum Resources and Lalith Dissanayake, undertook an official visit to Berlin from 14th to 16th December 2008.

During their visit, the delegation met with the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Economic Cooperation & Development Committee and the South Asia Friendship Group of the German Parliament. At these meetings, the Sri Lanka delegation briefed the German parliamentarians on the present political developments in Sri Lanka, highlighting the necessity to defeat LTTE terrorism in order to achieve a sustainable political solution to address the concerns of all communities in the country.

The delegation also briefed the German side on the various steps that have been taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to safeguard human rights and its efforts to provide uninterrupted humanitarian assistance to the civilian population and IDPs in the North. Highlighting the success story of the liberation of the Eastern Province, the Sri Lankan parliamentarians requested for more German development assistance for the Government’s efforts to rebuild the province. The visiting parliamentarians also had a meeting with the Sri Lankan diaspora, at the Embassy. - Sri Lanka Guardian