President arrives in Japan
President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in Japan Tuesday morning on a
four-day official visit.
President Rajapaksa and First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa were received
by Parliamentary Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs in Japan Minoru
Kiuchi, Sri Lankan Ambassador in Japan Admiral (Retd.) Wasantha
Karannagoda and Japanese Ambassador in Sri Lanka Nobuhito Hobo, at the
Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. During the visit, President
Rajapaksa is expected to hold discussions with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
and have an audience with the Emperor and Empress of Japan who will also
be hosting a lunch for the President and the First Lady at the Imperial
Palace.
President Rajapaksa is scheduled to host a breakfast meeting for
leaders of Japan’s corporate and industry sectors as well as attend the
inaugural ceremony of the Sri Lanka Business Forum. In addition to
several bilateral meetings with Japanese ministers and government
officials, President Rajapaksa is also scheduled to attend a meeting of
the Japan -Sri Lanka Parliamentary League and meet with Ambassador
Yasushi Akashi. Japan and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations
when the San Francisco Peace Treaty came into force on April28, 1952.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka in November last year issued a silver
commemorative coin with a face value of Rs.1,000 to mark the 60th
Anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Irrigation and Water
Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva, Monitoring MP for
Ministry of External Affairs Sajin de Vaas Gunawardena, Secretary to the
President Lalith Weeratunga and Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard
Cabraal are among the Sri Lankan officials, along with a business
delegation, accompanying the President on his second official visit to
the country. www.priu.govt.lk
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