Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Sri Lanka; Australia to give two Bay class patrol boats to Sri Lanka; Agreement signed between New Zealand and Sri Lanka; UK will fund £2.1 million over two years for a new demining programme in S
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Whatsapp
  • Linkedin
  • Print

    • (NOVEMBER 11-17)

    According to reports, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was held in Sri Lanka from 15-17 November 2013. Total 50 countries attended the meeting of which 27 countries were represented by their head of state or government. 1 Some of the country representatives met with the Sri Lankan leaders on the sideline of the CHOGM to discuss bilateral issues.

    In another development, according to reports, Australia's Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and her Sri Lankan counterpart Prof G. L. Peiris held a discussion on the sidelines of the CHOGM Foreign Ministers. The two foreign ministers had productive discussion to find solutions to curb irregular maritime arrivals to Australia. The two ministers also discussed the optimum utilizing of AusAid for the socio-economic development of the country and further encouraging investor confidence in carving out a mutually beneficial partnership. 2

    According to reports, British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that UK will fund £2.1 million over 2 years for a new demining programme which will clear landmines from some of the most heavily mined areas of the country. The UK Government has already helped 70,000 internally displaced people in northern Sri Lanka re-settle through DFID's 2010-2013 Global Mine Action programme which provided £3 million for demining carried out by the HALO Trust.3 At the same time David Cameron, who attended the CHOGM, gave ultimatum to the Sri Lankan Government to complete independent investigation on the war crimes during the last phase of war by March 2014. 4

    According to reports, Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who visited Sri Lanka to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, has said that two Bay class patrol boats will be given to Sri Lanka to boost the efforts by the island's Navy to prevent people smuggling in the Indian Ocean. The patrol boats that will be gifted to Sri Lanka under a memorandum of understanding are to be used for humanitarian purposes. Australia will also provide training to Sri Lanka Navy along with the boats. 5

    Reports noted that a new Dairy Cooperation Arrangement between the governments of Sri Lanka and New Zealand has been signed to boost New Zealand's investment in Sri Lanka's dairy industry. 6

    In other developments, according to reports, Sri Lanka's trade deficit in Septembers 2013 declined as a result of a strong growth in exports. Both earnings from exports and expenditure on imports have recorded significant year-on-year growth in September 2013. Earnings from exports grew by 11.1 percent year-on-year to US $ 890 million, while expenditure on imports increased by 22.8 percent to US$ 1.614 billion in September 2013. On a cumulative basis, during the first nine months of 2013, earnings from exports increased by 0.3 percent, while expenditure on imports deceased by 0.9 percent from the corresponding period in 2012. Although, the trade deficit of the Balance of Payments (BOP) increased significantly by 41.1 percent year-on-year to US$ 698 million in September 2013, the cumulative trade deficit during the first nine months of 2013 contracted by 2.1 percent to US$ 6.721 billion, from US$ 6.869 billion during the corresponding period of 2012. 7

    Top