Sri Lanka is encouraged by the positive response it received from the United States on the government's initiatives since the end of the war, the Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris said Tuesday. Addressing a media briefing yesterday following his recent lengthy visit to the US, the Minister said that he was very much encouraged by the warm welcome and the extremely positive response he received from the US leadership.
The Minister, who met US Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton on Friday May 28, said when he expressed Sri Lanka's appreciation for the recent removal of the US travel warning on Sri Lanka, Secretary Clinton had observed that it was a vote of confidence in Sri Lanka as well as a reflection on the safe and secure environment.
During the meeting Secretary Clinton said the US is very supportive of the approach taken by the Sri Lankans.
Minister Peiris has discussed the stable political environment present in the country now following the two national elections which gave the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his government a resounding electoral mandate.
He has briefed Secretary Clinton on government's plans to revive the democratic process in the North and the East which had been non-existent during the conflict and removal of the majority of the Emergency Regulations that were enacted during the conflict.
The Minister has informed the US leader on the President Rajapaksa's appointment of the Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission which the Secretary Clinton has welcomed saying that the United States strongly supports political and ethnic reconciliation in Sri Lanka.
Prof. Peiris has also discussed the issue of Internally Displaced Persons resettlement with the Secretary. The US officials during discussions had expressed appreciation for the multi faceted progress achieved under the guidance of the President in the area of resettlement, the Minister said.
During the discussion the US official has assured the Minister that the United States will continue to provide Sri Lanka with humanitarian and de-mining assistance to help heal the wounds of war and bring lasting peace and prosperity to the country.
During his visit to New York on May 23-24, Prof. Peiris also met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and a range of senior UN officials, including Chef de Cabinet Vijay Nambiar and Under Secretary General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe and discussed the Sri Lankan Government's appointment of a Commission of Inquiry to address accountability following the war.
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