Cameroon PM welcomes stronger ties with SL
"The new thrust in Sri Lanka's foreign policy, giving greater weight
to relations with countries in the African continent and enhancing
mutual benefit from this focus, is exceedingly welcome, Prime Minister
Philemon Yang of Cameroon told External Affairs Minister Professor
G.L.Peiris at their meeting on Monday.
 |
|
External Affairs Minister Professor
G.L.Peiris meeting Prime Minister of Cameroon Philemon Yang
on Monday |
Minister Peiris, who was on a two day official visit to Cameroon ,
explained to the Prime Minister of Cameroon the eagerness of the
government of Sri Lanka to reorient the country's diplomatic
representation overseas so as to reflect emerging priorities. A wide
range of shared values and largely overlapping approaches to current
international issues underline the usefulness of this development, the
visiting Minister said.
Prime Minister Philemon Yang expressed appreciation of Sri Lanka's
consistent positions which had been of value to Cameroon over the years.
Prof. Peiris pointed out that this has a long history: Sri Lanka had
supported the Resolution for Cameroon to become an independent State
from 1st January 1960, at the United Nations General Assembly. Since
then, Sri Lanka and Cameroon had worked closely, co-operating within the
United Nations framework, through their Permanent Missions in New York.
The two countries share membership of several multilateral bodies
wielding considerable influence in the international arena. For
instance, both Sri Lanka and Cameroon are members of the Non-Aligned
Movement and the Group of 77.
Prime Minister Yang and Professor Peiris agreed that synergies
characterizing the bilateral relationship lend themselves to extensive
use in increasing volumes of trade and commerce as well as in
strengthening political co-operation. They recognized the need for
invigorating partnership through the Non-Aligned Movement and other fora
in pursuance of common goals to overcome challenges confronting
developing countries.
The Prime Minister of Cameroon, indicating the importance of tourism
as a pillar of Cameroon's economy, said that his country would benefit
from Sri Lanka's expertise in hotel management and other services
relevant to development of the tourism sector. Minister Peiris responded
that the Government of Sri Lanka would be delighted to assist the
tourism sector in Cameroon in every possible way, and undertook to put
the government agencies in the two countries in touch with one another
to move forward in implementing a programme of action. Reciprocally, the
experience of Cameroon with regard to wild life sanctuaries will be very
useful to Sri Lanka, Prof. Peiris said.
Prime Minister Philemon Yang and Prof. Peiris also discussed
co-operation in the field of information technology where significant
progress had been achieved in recent years in both Sri Lanka and
Cameroon.
Minister Peiris comprehensively briefed the Prime Minister about
current issues in Sri Lanka after the eradication of terrorism. He
explained in detail the contents of the Report of the Lessons Learnt and
Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and the government's initiatives with
regard to systematic implementation. He was interviewed on national
television in Cameroon.
Prof. Peiris also had discussions with Acting Foreign Minister of
Cameroon John Ngute,, prior to his departure to Congo for a series of
official meetings.
|
