President Rajapaksa visits Bahrain; China appreciates Sri Lanka's support to the "Maritime Silk Route"; Canada does not recognise Sri Lankan government's ban on sixteen Tamil diaspora groups
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Whatsapp
  • Linkedin
  • Print

    • Reports noted that President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a two days official visit to Bahrain. This was the first ever state visit of a Sri Lankan President to Bahrain. During the visit, Sri Lanka and Bahrain signed three Memorandums of Understanding on sports, culture and arts, and another between the University of Colombo and the University of Bahrain on April 28. Also, President Mahinda Rajapaksa was presented with the prestigious Khalifa Medal, the highest honor in the Kingdom of Bahrain. 1

    According to reports, China has appreciated Sri Lanka's support extended to the "Maritime Silk Route" (MSR) initiative proposed by the Chinese leadership, which advocates harnessing primarily economic cooperation in the Maritime Silk Route Belt, Sri Lanka's External Affairs Ministry said. The Chinese vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Liu Zhenmin during his visit to Sri Lanka recently to participate in the 9th Round of the bilateral political consultations between the two countries has stressed that through the implementation of the MSR concept, both countries would benefit in a number of key areas including fisheries and shipping. During the bilateral talks, China has proposed to convene an oceanography seminar and deepen cooperation in maritime science environment protection, and intimated interest to increase investments targeting the development of the Chinese-built Hambantota Port and its vicinity. 2

    In other developments, according to reports, the Canadian Government had said that it will not recognize the Sri Lankan government's ban on sixteen Tamil diaspora groups suspected of organizations affiliated with or supporting the defunct Tamil Tiger terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Issuing a statement on April 30, 2014, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Consular Lynne Yelich expressed concern over the Sri Lankan government's ban and Canadian individuals alleged of having links with the terror group and said the ban has no effect in Canada. 3

    Top