High Commission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in the United Kingdom

Mr President

Mr Secretary-General

Your Majesties

Your Excellencies

Distinguished Delegates

Ladies and Gentlemen

At the outset, I thank H.E. Volkan Bozkir, President of the General Assembly for convening the Special Session in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as proposed by the Non Aligned Movement and Azerbaijan, Chair of the NAM.

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State Minister for Regional Co-operation Tharaka Balasuriya delivering the keynote address at the virtual conference; ‘Promoting Sri Lanka’s Interests in the Maritime Domain: Strengthening Cooperation with the European Union’ reiterated that Sri Lanka’s maritime domain is a vital component that can unleash Sri Lanka’s growth potential and achieve the priority areas outlined in President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s manifesto ‘Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour’.

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Sri Lanka condemns the assassination of Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, and any form of acts of terrorism against humanity. Sri Lanka calls for the stability and security of the Middle East and the Persian Gulf region and believes strongly in dialogue and engagement as the most successful means for finding a solution to problems.

Foreign Ministry

Colombo

02 December 2020

 Hon. Mariya Didi, Defence Minister of Maldives,

Shri Ajit Doval, National Security Adviser of India,

Defence Secretary Major General Kamal Gunaratne,

Foreign Secretary Admiral Professor Jayanath Colombage,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

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Excellencies,

Hon.Chairman,

Distinguished delegates,

Ayubowan.

It is my pleasure to be invited to address this august gathering, representing my country.

Let me commence my remarks by congratulating His Excellency Luhut B. Panjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs of Indonesia, UNDP and the AIS Secretariat for organizing this important event.

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Eminent international legal luminaries, Managing Director and Head of Projects for Morocco and Sudan at the Max Planck Foundation Prof. Rüdiger Wolfrum and member of the United Nations International Law Commission Sir Michael Wood were among the speakers at a webinar organized by the Foreign Ministry on 20 November 2020, as part of its responsibilities as the lead country for the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Working Group on Maritime Safety and security on the theme “The Nexus between Marine Scientific Research (MSR) and Maritime Safety and Security (MSS)”.

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The attention of the Ministry was drawn to the comments on Sri Lanka attributed to Chair of The Elders and former Irish President Mary Robinson as a part of a recent statement by The Elders titled ‘The Elders express deep concern at failure to respect US democratic transition of power’ which was contained in several newspapers in Ireland.

In this connection, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in the United Kingdom Saroja Sirisena wrote to Mrs Robinson and the Editors of the relevant newspapers drawing attention to the inaccuracy of Mrs Robinson’s comments.

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