Sri Lanka External Affairs Minister on official visit to UK

Sri Lanka Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris is to leave tomorrow (18) for the United Kingdom on an official visit at the invitation of UK Foreign Secretary William Hague, the Ministry of External Affairs announced today.

This is the former Rhode Scholar's first official ministerial-level visit to the UK since the formation of the new British government.

Minister Peiris is scheduled to discussions with Secretary Hague, Defence Secretary Dr. Liam Fox, and other Members of the British Parliament.

On Tuesday October 19 Professor Peiris will deliver the Keynote Address at the 1st International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS)-Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry Dialogue.

The London-based think-tank on strategic and foreign policy issues has organized the Dialogue in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs in Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka High Commission in London.

Minister's address to IISS will be followed by three formal sessions of the Dialogue on "Countering Terrorism and Transnational Terrorist Front Organizations", "Post-Conflict Progress in Sri Lanka" and "Sri Lanka-UK Bilateral Relations: Future Perspectives".

The sessions will be led by members of the Sri Lankan delegation and IISS/UK experts.

Minister Peiris will also meet with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma.

Sri Lanka is the current Chair of the Board of Governor's of the Commonwealth. Sri Lanka will host the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).