Lankan, Latvian ties flourishing

M.P. Muttiah

Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama said that Sri Lanka had very good links with the European Union on many issues including GSP.

Sri Lanka had always co-operated with all the countries.

Speaking at the National Day celebration of Latvia held in Colombo, Dr Amunugama said although the people of Latvia and Sri Lanka belonged to different cultures, the cooperation among them always flourished. He added that Latvia was one of the vibrant countries.

Honorary Consulate of Latvia in Sri Lanka Thomas F. Dactwyler said that if one looked at the world today, we could see that never before had international cooperation been so important. Never before had we faced such a multitude of simultaneous critical challenges of global significance.

He added that the most severe problems are energy,economy, environment, finance, food and fuel. These global issues required urgent and concerted attention at the international level.

He further said that 91 years ago, on November 18, 1918, the newly independent state of Latvia was born. However, its independence was interrupted from 1940 for 50 years during occupation.

The Honorary Consulate pointed out that the relationship between Sri Lanka and Latvia had significantly developed over the years. He recalled the visit of Speaker of the Parliament and a delegation from the Ceylon Chambers of Commerce to Latvia. This would further cement the ties between the two countries, he said.