Ensure basic ethos of member countries - GL

The Commonwealth in seeking to enhance its relevance and usefulness, needs to ensure that there is no conflict with the basic ethos of member countries, External Affairs Minister Professor G L Peiris said.

Addressing a Commonwealth Ministerial reception in New York co-hosted by the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom on Saturday, Professor Peiris said the occasion was a celebration of the Commonwealth as an institution of contemporary relevance as when it was initially established, with the pivotal values of the empowerment of people through representative institutions, maintaining due processes and social justice.

Minister Peiris said however that with any institution with a history, as is the Commonwealth, there is a need to rediscover itself to make certain that it is responsive to current needs and priorities.

He said the Commonwealth above all is a celebration of diversity, and it is imperative to be mindful that the 54 member states are at different stages of development, all having a sense of identity, legitimately proud of their different cultures and with historical traditions and societal structures of their own.

Minister Peiris pointed out that relevance in the context of the Commonwealth has much to do with identifying the issues envisaged to be dealt with collectively as matters of urgency.

He said it is imperative to prioritise issues which need to be selected in a manner that they have a direct impact on the daily lives of the people.

He outlined areas such as access to nutrition, healthcare, education and training, poverty alleviation with special reference to rural indebtedness and micro credit and also social mobility in general.

“These areas,” he said “are amongst a wide range of matters that Sri Lanka proposes to focus on when the Commonwealth Heads of Government meet in Colombo next year.

He said to this end, the government commenced preparations and the people of Sri Lanka look forward to welcoming the participants to their island home with warmth and cordiality.

An agreement on the Short-Stay Visa waiver between Sri Lanka and Seychelles was concluded and signed in New York by Minister Peiris and his counterpart Jean-Paul Adam. The agreement’s objective is to further friendly relations between the two countries to promote trade and economic development and facilitating the movement of citizens between Sri Lanka and Seychelles.

Minister Peiris participating at the Annual Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of the G-77 + China on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, pointed out that the group represents a powerhouse of energy for economic development as it has a reservoir of talent in respect of human resources.

Pointing out that the Charter of the UN requires the harnessing of international institutions to support social justice and well being of all peoples, he said that a level playing field is absolutely essential and therefore the distortion of markets resulting from substantial subsidies and other means is not in keeping with the letter and spirit of the Charter.

He also underscored the essentiality of equal access to markets. Minister Peiris regretted that while many initiatives are being taken to remove impediments to the movement of capital, there was little attention being paid to the mobility of labour.

He said many parts of the developed world have a labour deficit while much of the developing world has a labour surplus and therefore the free movement of labour is worthy of consideration.Minister Peiris met Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Eduardo Rodriguez Parilla and conveyed his appreciation of the consistent support extended to Sri Lanka at various international fora.

He briefed his counterpart on the current developments in the country, after three decades of conflict. He added that despite the significant achievements in this regard, criticism has continued from some quarters of the international community.

The two ministers agreed that external interference in the internal matters of a sovereign country could hinder the reconciliation process.

They discussed the workings of the UN Human Rights Council and agreed on the need to arrest the trend of its politicisation, demonstrated by the increase of country specific resolutions.

Bilateral matters including cooperation in the fields of trade, education, agriculture and culture between Sri Lanka and Cuba were also discussed.