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China vows friendship, cooperation with Sri Lanka, UAE, Algeria, Serbia

Published

6 years ago

2020/10/15

BEIJING, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) —

China has vowed to strengthen cooperation and deepen traditional friendship with Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Algeria and Serbia, said a senior Chinese diplomat Monday.

Wrapping up his visits to the four countries, Yang Jiechi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, told Chinese press that it is a journey of friendship, trust, synergy and cooperation.

Currently, with the profound changes of the world unseen in a century deepening and the COVID-19 pandemic still raging globally, the international situation is becoming more unstable and uncertain, Yang said.

It is a common and urgent need of the international community to join hands in fighting the pandemic, unite for recovery and strengthen global governance, he said.

During his visits, Yang said, in-depth exchanges have been made with the four countries on such major issues as implementing the important consensus reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and leaders of the four countries, consolidating their traditional friendship, deepening practical cooperation and addressing global challenges together, and they have reached many consensus.

This is a journey of consolidating friendship and deepening mutual trust, and also a journey of strengthening synergy and expanding practical cooperation, Yang said.

First, the visits have strengthened communication and consolidated political mutual trust, he said.

Yang stressed that China is ready to maintain close high-level exchanges with the four countries, strengthen practical cooperation, continue supporting each other on issues involving each other’s core interests and major concerns and safeguard the common interests of developing countries.

The four countries spoke highly of their relations with China, reaffirmed that they pursue positive policies towards China, understand and support China in safeguarding its national sovereignty, security and development interests, Yang noted.

Second, he said China and the four countries have tapped their potential for deepened mutually-beneficial cooperation.

China and Sri Lanka agree to, with high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road as a main focus, build two major cooperative engines for comprehensive development of Colombo Port City and Hambantota Port, make shipping logistics and industrial cooperation bigger and stronger, and enhance financial and trade cooperation, Yang said.

He said China and the UAE vowed to actively advance high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road, strengthen cooperation on the resumption of work and production, and firmly promote 5G cooperation.

China and Algeria agree to formulate a new five-year plan for comprehensive strategic cooperation through consultation, and comprehensively expand bilateral cooperation in the fields of digital economy, communications, transportation and agriculture, Yang said.

He said China and Serbia agree to synergize their development strategies, deepen cooperation in transportation infrastructure and energy, and speed up the construction of the Serbian section of Hungary-Serbia railway.

Serbia stressed that it will continue to provide an open, fair and just business environment for Chinese enterprises in 5G and other fields, Yang said.

All the countries agree to further deepen dialogue and cooperation in a wide range of fields such as science and technology, education, culture, sports, tourism, media and think tanks, he said.

Third, Yang noted, China and the four countries have worked together to fight the pandemic and strengthened public health cooperation.

He said China stressed that it will continue cooperation with the four countries in epidemic prevention and control as well as medical and health, share experiences and diagnosis and treatment methods in combatting the pandemic and provide support for and assistance to the four countries and other countries in need.

The four countries spoke highly of China’s achievement in fighting the pandemic and progress in resumption of work and production, saying that they stand ready to further strengthen cooperation with China in joint prevention and control of the disease and vaccine and drug research and development to best contain the epidemic and consolidate the hard-won achievements, Yang said.

He said China and the four countries agree that there it is imperative to strengthen international cooperation in fighting the pandemic as the coronavirus is raging around the globe.

Countries should strengthen solidarity and work together in times of difficulty, he said, give full play to the key leadership role of the World Health Organization, oppose politicizing and stigmatizing the pandemic, to resolutely win the global battle against the COVID-19 pandemic and promote the building of a community of common health for mankind.

Fourth, he noted, China and the four countries have upheld multilateralism and jointly safeguarded world peace and development. No country can stay immune from various traditional and non-traditional security issues and development challenges, as humanity faces a shared future.

The international community should firmly uphold multilateralism, engage in extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, and work together to safeguard universal security, he said.

All parties should step up communication and coordination on major international issues, oppose Cold War mentality and ideological confrontation, safeguard international rule of law, and jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind, Yang said.

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President meets with Department of Prisons Officials

Published

2 hours ago

2026/07/18

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake met with the officers of the Department of Prisons, including Superintendents of Prisons, Jailers and other officials, on Friday (17) afternoon at the Presidential Secretariat.

Extensive discussions focused on the challenges currently faced by the prison system and the urgent measures required to address them.

Special attention was also given to the recent incident at the Negombo Prison, with lengthy discussions held on the steps needed to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

The meeting also addressed the challenges faced by prison officers and matters relating to their welfare.

The officials noted that this was the first opportunity they had been given to discuss their concerns directly with the President and expressed their appreciation for the opportunity.

Minister of Justice and National Integration Harshana Nanayakkara, Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Anil Jayantha Fernando, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, Secretary to the Ministry of Justice and National Integration Ayesha Jinasena, Commissioner General of Prisons Prasad Hemantha Kumara, Commissioner of Prisons (Rehabilitation) S.K. Pallethanna, Commissioner of Prisons (Operation/ Intelligence) A.C. Gajanayake, along with a number of other officials of the Department of Prisons, were present at the meeting.

(PMD)

News

Prioritize Vocational Education in future Education Planning – President

Published

2 hours ago

2026/07/18

Priyan

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake emphasised that greater priority must be given to strengthening Sri Lanka’s vocational education sector in parallel with the country’s ongoing education reforms, stating that the Government is prepared to allocate the necessary funding through the 2027 Budget.

The President made these remarks on Friday (17) during a meeting at the Presidential Secretariat to review the progress of projects implemented under the 2026 Budget allocations for the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education and to discuss the Ministry’s funding requirements ahead of the 2027 Budget.

A total allocation of Rs. 303 billion has been made to the Ministry under the 2026 Budget, comprising Rs. 160 billion for general education, Rs. 122 billion for higher education and Rs. 20 billion for vocational education.

The meeting reviewed the implementation of projects funded under these allocations, future plans and the Ministry’s funding requirements for the coming year. The President stressed that budget allocations should not be spent merely because they have been provided, but should instead be utilised in line with national priorities and identified needs.

Officials noted that the largest-ever capital allocation of Rs. 8 billion had been provided this year for vocational education. They also reported that 57,959 students had been enrolled during the first two quarters of the year across 310 Government vocational training institutions.

Particular attention was given to increasing the annual intake of students into vocational education institutions. Discussions also covered the allocation of a permanent site for the Ocean University, the gradual increase in student admissions to the University of Vocational Technology from next year and measures to expand both the number and quality of University Colleges across the country, enabling students in the regions to access technical degree and diploma programmes more easily.

The meeting also focused on programmes implemented under the general education sector. The President stressed that projects financed through foreign assistance should not become an unnecessary debt burden on the country, but should instead be undertaken only where they are aligned with Sri Lanka’s education policies and genuine national requirements.

Attention was also directed towards welfare programmes for schoolchildren. The President instructed that priorities be established to ensure that benefits reach those who genuinely require them based on the effectiveness of each programme. The President further noted that the President’s Fund remains ready to support scholarship programmes and instructed officials to prepare and submit proposals outlining such funding requirements.

The meeting also held extensive discussions on increasing the monthly financial assistance provided to students with special educational needs from 2026 onwards, as well as raising the allowances paid to student teachers at the National Colleges of Education.

Officials also briefed the President on issues relating to the existing student insurance scheme.

Discussions further focused on plans to invest Rs. 382 billion in the education sector during the 2027–2031 period to support its continued development. Particular attention was given to the proposed Digital Transformation Project, which forms part of this investment programme.

It was also noted that work has commenced on the rehabilitation of 20 schools and National Colleges of Education damaged by Cyclone Ditwah, with Rs. 1.9 billion allocated for the programme.

The meeting also agreed that teacher shortages, vacancies among non-academic staff and salary anomalies within the education sector should be addressed through a coordinated approach across the public sector. It was further agreed that a special commission would be tasked with recommending permanent solutions to these issues.

Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Dr. Harini Amarasuriya; Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando; Deputy Minister of Vocational Education Nalin Hewage; Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake; Chief of Staff to the President Prabath Chandrakeerthi; Senior Additional Secretaries to the President Russel Aponsu and Kapila Janaka Bandara; Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma; Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Nalaka Kaluwewa; together with officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, were also present at the meeting.

(PMD)

News

Navy brings fisherman in distress off Pothuvil, ashore

Published

9 hours ago

2026/07/18

Priyan

The Sri Lanka Navy rescued a fisherman from a local fishing trawler that encountered distress due to adverse weather conditions off the eastern coast of Sri Lanka.

The rescue operation took place on 17 July 2026, approximately 15 nautical miles off Pothuvil. The operation was launched following information received by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Colombo.

In response, the Sri Lanka Navy deployed the Offshore Patrol Vessel SLNS Vijayabahu along with additional craft to conduct a search operation in the designated sea area, where they successfully located the distressed fisherman.

Following the rescue, the individual was brought aboard SLNS Vijayabahu, where naval personnel administered preliminary first aid. He was subsequently brought to the mainland and rushed for further medical attention.

Meanwhile, the Navy, along with the coordination of MRCC Colombo, remains constantly prepared to swiftly respond to the eventualities faced by maritime and fishing communities operating within the island’s Search and Rescue Region (SRR).