External Affairs Minister GL Peiris attended 9th Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD); Meeting held between Indian and Sri Lankan Coastguard officials;
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    • External Affairs Minister, Prof. G.L. Peiris led the Sri Lanka delegation to the 9th Meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) in Tehran during 8–9 November. On the sideline of ACD, Iran and Sri Lanka discussed the construction of a new oil refinery in Sri Lanka by Iranian experts aimed at exporting Iranian LNG to Colombo as well as for boosting tourism.1

    Indian Coast Guard Deputy Director General V.S.R Moorthi held meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart Rear Admiral Daya Dharmapriya on November 9.2 Meanwhile, a 13-member delegation of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TIE), an Indian organization of entrepreneurs visited Sri Lanka and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) to expand business ties.3

    The Government of Sri Lanka and the World Bank jointly signed off on three projects with agreements totaling US$ 125.4 million on Nov 8, 2010 for Small and Medium Enterprise Development, North East Local Service Improvements, and Sustainable Tourism development.4

    The Japanese Government has extended US$ 373,200 (approximately Rs. 42 million) for a demining project in the Northern part of Sri Lanka aimed at to meet the emergency needs of the area and to promote peace and development of Sri Lanka.5 However, the Executive Board of World Food Programme (WFP) approved the protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) of US $ 39,755,501 for Sri Lanka.6

    In other developments, Sri Lanka’s economy is predicted to grow at 7.6 percent in 2010, with foreign reserves hitting an all time high of US $ 7 billion.7 Sri Lanka's unemployment rate fell to 5.4 percent in the second quarter 2010.8 However, the Human Development Report 2010, an independent publication commissioned by the UNDP, has placed Sri Lanka at 91 in the Human Development Index (HDI) among 169 countries surveyed.9

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