President Rajapaksa to meet President Bush at roundtable discussion

61st UNGA begins:

Bandula Jayasekara at the United Nations in New York

UNITED NATIONS: The 61st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opened on Tuesday chaired by Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain, the first woman in 37 years to chair the United Nations General Assembly sessions.

Ambassador Shirley Amarasinghe was the only Sri Lankan to have chaired a UNGA in 1976. He chaired the 31st United Nations General Assembly Sessions. President Mahinda Rajapaksa will lead a strong Sri Lankan delegation to the 61st UN sessions, his first as Head of State.

President Rajapaksa is scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 19 after Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and before Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

President Rajapaksa is among a select group of Heads of States and Governments invited by American President George W Bush for a roundtable discussion of democratic nations.

This discussion will also take place on the 19th in New York. Rajapaksa will also meet several Heads of Governments including the Prime Minister of Norway and heads of organisations and US Congressmen during his stay in New York.

Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam said: “President Rajapaksa will also participate in the first meeting of 11 Heads of States of lower middle income countries to advance their interest in the global economic, investment and trade arena to pursue result oriented assistance.”

Convened by the King of Jordan Abdullah Bin Al- Hussein the group will include Heads of State of Croatia, Ecuador, Georgia, Honduras, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Paraguay, Tunisia and Sri Lanka. On September 20 President Rajapaksa will address the Asia Society of 'Development and Peacekeeping; Challenges in Sri Lanka'.