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| Wednesday, 2 March 2005 |
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New Zealand Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Phil Goff arrived in the island yesterday for a three-day visit. He called on Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar at the Foreign Ministry and expressed the condolences of the New Zealand Government and people over the loss of a great number of lives caused by the recent tsunami disaster, states a Foreign Ministry press release. The visiting Minister said that his Government would allocate USD 5-10 million to assist Sri Lanka to reconstruct and rebuild the tsunami devastated areas. He inquired as to what projects would be suitable for New Zeland to get involved. The Minister welcoming the offer said that the Government has drawn up a Master Plan for reconstruction of the Tsunami damaged areas and suggested that in consultation with the Sri Lankan community in New Zealand who were showing keen interest in the reconstruction of the devastated coastal areas a suitable project can be chosen from the master plan which is available with the Task Force for Rebuilding the Nation (TAFREN). The New Zealand Minister expressed his country's desire to interact with Sri Lanka, in tacking the issue of illegal human trafficking and related transnational crime. Minister Kadirgamar welcomed this idea and undertook to request the Minister of Public Security, Law and Order to initiate a dialogue at the operational level between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries. The discussion also covered areas such as bilateral trade, mutual co-operation in UN matters, UN reforms and the peace process. Mr. Goff is also scheduled to call on the Prime Minister and the Minister of Trade, Commerce and Consumer Affairs. His programme includes a tour to Galle and Trincomalee to inspect the areas ravaged by the tsunami disaster and UNICEF/UNDP funded relief projects. |
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