Sri Lanka pledges support for South-South Initiatives
The Deputy Minister of External Affairs, Neomal Perera, visited Austria from 3rd to 5th November 2014. Participating in expression of solidarity with the Landlocked Developing Countries in South Asia and other regions, at the 2nd UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC) held in Vienna, the Deputy Minister stressed that as a country committed to the principle of non-alignment, "Sri Lanka pursues an approach, which emphasizes enmity towards none and friendship towards all." He added that it was in the category of special friends that most landlocked developing countries belonged.
Outlining the policy priorities of the Government of Sri Lanka, Deputy Minister Perera stated that "under the leadership of His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka is beginning to actively participate in, and contribute to, South -South development initiatives, thereby demonstrating its goodwill and interest to engage with, and extend support to, friendly countries in need of support."
Deputy Minister Perera was elected to serve on the Bureau of the United Nations Conference as a Vice President. The Conference was chaired by Sebastian Kurz, Minister of Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria, which hosted the event, 10 years after the first conference was held in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
During his stay in Vienna, Deputy Minister held talks with the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations, Hon. Josepf Cap and the Secretary General of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, Mr. Michael Linhart. Highlighting the importance of the six decades of bilateral relations between Austria and Sri Lanka, both sides discussed proposals aimed at strengthening trade and economic cooperation.
Expressing gratitude for the consistent support extended by Austria for the development of Sri Lanka, the Deputy Minister called for increased investment by Austrian companies in joint ventures in Sri Lanka. The Austrian side indicated that its parliamentary delegation is looking forward to visiting Sri Lanka next year.
The heads of International Organisations based in Vienna received Deputy Minister Perera on the sidelines of the UN Conference. Several matters of mutual cooperation were discussed during meetings with Mr. Yury Fedetov, Executive Director of UNODC, Mr. Yukia Amano, Director General of IAEA and Dr. Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of CTBTO. Ambassador A.L.A. Azeez, Permanent Representative, Mr. Srimal Wickremasinghe, Deputy Chief of Mission and Mrs. Madurika Weninger, Minister in the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka in Vienna were associated with the Deputy Minister at the meetings. (KH)
