C’wealth Secretary-General to arrive in SL

The Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland would arrive in  Sri Lanka on Wednesday for a four-day official visit, the Foreign Affairs  Ministry said on Monday.

In a statement, the ministry said this would be Dame Scotland’s first visit to Sri Lanka since she assumed the Office of Secretary-General in April 2016.

“On August 1, the Secretary-General will call on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and meet Foreign Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana. She will meet Ministers Malik Samarawickrama, Faiszer Musthapha, Sagala Ratnayake, Ranjith Madduma Bandara and Akila Viraj Kariyawasam and Opposition Leader R. Sampanthan on August 2 and 3,” it said.   

The main objective of the Secretary-General’s meetings will be to explore greater cooperation and collaboration in the implementation of the agreed outcomes at the 2018 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London, including promoting intra-Commonwealth trade.

Discussions will also include the implementation of the ‘Commonwealth Blue Charter’, under which Sri Lanka holds the role of a champion country to lead the Commonwealth effort towards the restoration of mangroves.