Following talks with Ambassador Samantha Power, Minister Mangala Samaraweera making remarks to the media said Power has been, and continues to be, a good friend of Sri Lanka. Even in the most difficult times, she always maintained faith and trust in the people of this country and in the latent strengths of our nation.
He said, “Her presence here with us is a source of encouragement to us as we proceed on the journey we began on the 8th of January to make our country a truly peaceful, reconciled, prosperous, nation which abides by the best democratic traditions; promoting and protecting the human rights of each of our citizens and celebrating the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religious and multi-lingual nature of our society”.
“Today, Sri Lanka is taken note of by the world community, not merely in terms of geographic positioning but in terms of the changes that have been ushered in by the people of our country”, he added.
Referring to bi-lateral talks held with Power, Samaraweera said, “In our meeting, we discussed about working together to ensure that the people of our country benefit from these changes and from the peace and democratic dividend; ways of making our partnership stronger, including enhancing bilateral trade and investment”.
“It is a challenging path that we have chosen for ourselves as a nation. We have a long way to go and this is the first time that the people of Sri Lanka require the assistance of the international community to ensure that are gains are built upon; the dreams of our people are realized, and we define and create our future today by our hopes and aspirations without being held back anymore by the fears and prejudices of the past.”
Minister Samaraweera expressing his gratitude to Ambassador Power for undertaking this visit said he look forward to staying engaged with her, and to work closely with her to further enhance US-Sri Lanka relations.
She will undertake a tour of Jaffna today to meet local government officials, civil society organisations and communities affected by the conflict. She is also expected to visit the Uthayan newspaper office and meet members of the local press.
