News
FM sees victory in defeat
Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena yesterday described the results of the vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council as a victory for Sri Lanka.
Speaking to the media at the Foreign Ministry shortly after the vote, he said that the session had been a “victory for Sri Lanka because 14 members had abstained so only 22 out of the 47 members supported the resolution.”
Minister Gunawardena said the UN rights council’s censure motion, which 22 voted for and 11 against, was not binding on Colombo.
“It is a waste of money and highly uncalled for. Without the consent and acceptance of the country concerned, it cannot be implemented,” the Minister said.
The money would be better spent on providing “housing for the entire population in the Jaffna peninsula”, he said.
He said Sri Lanka was thankful to the nations that stood with us. China supported Sri Lanka and had stated that it was “interference in the internal affairs of Sri Lanka” and urged members to oppose it. India was among 14 countries which abstained from voting.
The Paddy Marketing Board has approximately 115,000 metric tonnes of paddy stocks purchased from farmers, which are currently stored in the Board’s warehouses, and it has been planned to retain a sufficient buffer stock from these reserves and sell the remaining quantity in order to provide the necessary storage space and financial resources for the purchase of paddy from farmers during the upcoming Yala season.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to sell the aforementioned paddy stocks
following a formal tender procedure.
The Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 provides the legal provisions for regulating and promoting the export agriculture sector in this country.
Taking into consideration administrative changes and sectoral developments that have taken place over time, approval was granted at the Cabinet Meetings held on 2023-09-04 and 2025-08-11 to amend the said Act, which has not been updated for over 30 years.
The proposed amendments are intended to amend the designations of the Head of the Department of Export Agriculture and other officials, and to provide a clearer definition of the term “the export agricultural crop.”
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to publish in the Government Gazette the Draft Export Agriculture Promotion (Amendment) Bill, prepared in all three languages by the Legal Draftsman to amend the Export Agriculture Promotion Act, No. 46 of 1992, and thereafter submit the same to Parliament for its concurrence
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Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, appointed as Director General of the Department of Management Services
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, to appoint Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in the Special Grade who is currently serving as an Additional Director General of the Department of Management Services, to the post of Director General of the Department of Management Services with immediate effect.
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Amendment to the Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 to be gazatted
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