SAARC Secretary General on official visit to Lanka

SAARC Secretary General Dr. Sheel Kant Sharma, who is on a special visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, called on him at the Ministry yesterday.

Dr. Sharma pledged his fullest cooperation to work closely with Sri Lanka

The Minister discussed with Dr. Sharma the work ahead for Sri Lanka, as the SAARC Chair and the modalities by which the decisions taken at the recently concluded 15th Colombo Summit are to be implemented.

The Secretary General briefed the Foreign Minister on the responsibilities of the SAARC Chair. He emphasised the need to push ahead the decisions of the Colombo Declaration and highlighted the importance of Sri Lanka to give leadership in holding scheduled SAARC Meetings.

He noted that five ministerial meetings are to be hosted by Sri Lanka during her Chair, the first of which would be the Meeting of Transport Ministers to be held before the end of this year. The other ministerial meetings are related to Parliamentary Affairs, Energy, Women & Children, and Education. Apart from these ministerial meetings, Sri Lanka will be chairing the SAARC Council of Ministers Meeting in New York on September 29, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Sessions. Bogollagama stated that he would seek early ratification by member states of the four instruments signed during the Colombo Summit. Of particular importance would be the SAARC Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, which would give a further impetus in the collective fight against terrorism.

Dr. Sharma pledged his fullest cooperation to work closely with Sri Lanka, as the current Chair of SAARC in achieving the deliverable targets as envisaged in the Colombo Declaration for the benefit of the peoples of the region.

Dr. Sharma was accompanied by Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Director for India at the SAARC Secretariat. Foreign Secretary, Dr. Palitha Kohona and senior Ministry officials were present at the meeting.