US ambassador lauds CCHA humanitarian effort

COLOMBO: US Ambassador in Sri Lanka Robert O. Blake has praised the Government delegation led by Disaster Management Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe which accompanied diplomats to the Batticaloa Committee last week for the productive measures taken in addressing humanitarian concerns in the North and East.

Addressing at the fortnightly meeting of the Consultative Committee on Humanitarian Assistance (CCHA), the US envoy speaking on behalf of the international community that visited Jaffna and Batticaloa, said they appreciated the high-level focus of the Government through the CCHA in addressing humanitarian issues.

Ambassador Blake expressed the hope that similar assessment missions would be undertaken in the future and that the very successful method adopted in implementing the recommendations by the CCHA would be continued.

The main item on the agenda was the presentation of the Report of the Joint Assessment Team to Batticaloa compiled following the February 27 visit there by the team led by Minister Samarasinghe.

The CCHA chaired by Minister Samarasinghe(Chairman) includes, Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Commissioner General of Essential Services S.B. Divaratne, Secrataries of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nation Building and Infrastructure Development, Resettlement and Diaster Relief Services,Health and Nutrition.