President returns after successful visits to Cuba, Brazil

President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in the country yesterday after completing successful official visits to Cuba and Brazil where he participated in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), Rio+20 in Rio de Janeiro.

In Cuba prior to the Rio+20 summit, the President met Cuban leader Raul Castro and held discussions to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.

President Rajapaksa, arrived in Brazil on Tuesday and addressed the Rio+20 summit on Wednesday.

The President addressing the Rio+20 Summit, the UN’s largest conference on green economy and sustainable development, called for developed countries, which largely contribute to the environmental crisis, to take the responsibility of saving the environment and not leave it to the developing nations at the cost of their development.

The President noted in Sri Lanka, development was not at the expense of nature and pointed out that both protecting nature and development go hand in hand.

The Rio+20 Summit was attended by a number of world leaders, members of both government and non-governmental organisations and members of private sector organisations. On the sidelines of the green summit, President Rajapaksa met several world leaders to apprise them of the present situation in Sri Lanka and encourage them to enhance bilateral ties in various sectors, including trade, technology and agriculture.

Among the world leaders President met during the summit were his Chilean counterpart Sebastian Pinera Echenique, Bhutan’s Prime Minister Jigme Thinley, Nepal Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hungarian counterpart Janos Ader and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The President held lengthy talks with the Indian Prime Minister where the two leaders stressed that they would not leave any room for a disruption of the long-standing friendly ties between the two nations.

Ministers Prof G L Peiris, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Wimal Weerawansa, Patali Champika Ranawaka and Mahinda Amaraweera, Deputy Minister Nirupama Rajapaksa, Parliamentarian Sajin Vaas Gunawardena, Western Province Chief Minister Prasanna Ranatunge, Western PC Minister Udaya Gammanpila and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga accompanied the President.