British Minister here tomorrow

British Minister for Culture, Media and Sport Tessa Jowell will visit Sri Lanka tomorrow and Friday as part of a five-day visit which also includes India and Thailand.

During her visit, the Minister will look at reconstruction taken place since the tsunami and meet those working on rehabilitation. In her role as the Minister responsible for the long-term aftercare of UK victims of the tsunami, Jowell will report to the Prime Minister on progress when she returns to the UK, the British High Commission said in a release.

Jowell will be the first British Minister to visit Sri Lanka since President Mahinda Rajapakse was elected.

She will hold talks with senior members of the Sri Lankan Government tomorrow. She will also attend a lunch with leading Sri Lankan women in her role as British Minister for Women.

The Minister will meet a group of children who will be helped by a British-funded project called 'Youth Rehabilitation & Reconciliation through Community Cricket'.

This aims to bring youth from different communities together, including those from conflict-affected areas and build trust through a shared experience of sport.

Jowell will see an excerpt of the Edinburgh Festival award-winning theatre production, The Children of the Sea, performed by tsunami-affected children.

This will also be an opportunity to meet leading members of the Sri Lankan artistic community. The Minister will travel to Galle and Hikkaduwa on Friday to visit British volunteers helping in tsunami reconstruction and meet representatives of the local tourism industry.

The British Government has provided o56.7 million (approximately $102 million) worth of post-tsunami assistance to Sri Lanka through grants to the UN and NGOs and in the form of debt relief to the Sri Lankan Government.

The British public donated at least o400 million (approximately $720 million) of aid to those affected by the tsunami across the region.

Many British NGOs and volunteers are in Sri Lanka involved in post-tsunami reconstruction activities.