8 May 2017 05:48 pm
In his European Day message he said, “Two years ago, after the election of a government with a commitment and vision to make fundamental reforms, Sri Lanka and the European Union reset our relationship and renewed our cooperation, broadening our political dialogue to cover a wide range of topics, from fisheries exports to trade, from agriculture to climate change, as well as often difficult and sensitive topics such as national reconciliation, good governance, human rights and the rule of law.
He said Sri Lanka's renewed commitment to respecting international rule of law and upholding its international human rights, labour rights and environmental obligations had resulted in the European Commission recommending the reinstatement of GSP Plus.
“Getting there took many hours of intense collaboration between Sri Lanka and the EU, as together we examined Sri Lanka's compliance with the 27 international conventions on which the GSP+ assessment is based,” he said.