British Minister in Lanka on two - day tour

by Manjula Fernando

British Development Minister Gareth Thomas will be here on a two-day tour to visit tsunami affected areas in the Eastern and Southern coastal belts.

The visit is part of a tour of tsunami affected countries to assess the progress of British funded tsunami reconstruction projects implemented through UN agencies and NGOs. He will arrive here after visiting Indonesia.

He will visit Arugam Bay, Ninthavur and Ampara on Wednesday and Hikkaduwa and Galle on Thursday.

The British High Commission said the Development Minister who is also a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State will hold a number of high level meetings to discuss post-tsunami issues.

Gareth was appointed as a minister in the Department for International Development in 2003. He is responsible for Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and Overseas Dependant Territories.