News
GL assures British Foreign Secretary, that normalcy is returning
Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris last week assured Elizabeth Truss, the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs that normalcy was returning with modest tourist arrivals and other business picking up.
He said about 82% of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated and apparel industry which remained resilient even during the height of the pandemic was able to shift to produce other items such as Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs).
He described the Sri Lanka-UK bilateral relationship is very strong, and the two countries have a lot in common with a solid foundation to build on. Sri Lanka is an example of a robust and time-tested democratic tradition, he said with Lankans enjoying universal adult franchise 17 years before gaining independence, when it was still the Colony of Ceylon.
Referring to the investments successive Sri Lankan Governments have made for human resource development such as provision of free healthcare and free education up to university level, Minister Prof Peiris stated that some of the products of Sri Lankan free education system are contributing to the UK’s economy.
British influence is visible in every aspect of Sri Lanka’s life be it politics, trade, finance, legal and education. The names of major Sri Lankan companies indicate their origins and have been set up by British businessmen.
Referring to the Free Trade Agreements Sri Lanka has signed with India and Pakistan, he stated that such agreements provide an opportunity to British companies and act as a conduit to manufacture in Sri Lanka for export to these markets, a Colombo foreign office news release said.
He also told Truss that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has encouraged him to engage in a dialogue with the diaspora and the Government is also reaching out to the Tamil National Alliance. The Government has also commenced an engagement with civil society organisations and has released some suspects held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA).
It is revisiting the PTA to make changes which are not cosmetic but substantial, Also offices such as Office of Missing Persons, Office for Reparations and Office for National Unity and Reconciliation are engaged in useful work.
Foreign Secretary Truss reciprocated the sentiments expressed by Peiris and stated that she was fortunate to have visited Sri Lanka and the two countries need to engage more on investments. She added that the UK is developing a broader investment portfolio which Sri Lanka could be a part of.
In a swift search and rescue (SAR) operation, the Sri Lanka Navy on 22 Jun 2026 rendered assistance to a one-day fishing trawler that had failed to return to its intended destination.
Reportedly, the fishing trawler and its 02 crew members ran into trouble due to adverse weather conditions off the north coast of the island. The rescue mission was launched
immediately following an alert from the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources regarding the overdue trawler.
Responding to the distress call, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) Colombo, coordinated the deployment of naval craft for the SAR operation.
During the operation, naval personnel located the distressed trawler and its 02 fishermen in the seas off the Analaitivu Island and they were brought to safety.
Maintaining a round-the-clock vigil, the Sri Lanka Navy, through the coordination of MRCC Colombo, remains constantly prepared to deploy assets and extend vital lifesaving assistance to the naval and fishing communities facing perils within the Sri
Lankan Search and Rescue Region.
The NPP government has not taken a final decision regarding filling of the vacancies in the judiciary.
A group of Opposition MPs, led by SJB leader Sajith Premadasa, on 12 June, requested Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremeratne to take up the issue of judicial vacancies with President Dissanayake. Opposition sources said that there were four vacancies, each in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, and the inordinate delay had adversely affected the judiciary.
Government sources indicated that there was no change in the status quo as regards filling of vacancies. Referring to the government proposal to extend the retirement age of judges, authoritative sources said that no final decision had been taken yet.
SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayasekera told The Island that they would raise the issue in Parliament this week.
He said that the deliberate delay in making appointments to superior courts and the move to extend the retirement age couldn’t be taken separately.
The MP noted that the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, the Lawyers’ Collective, the Colombo High Court Lawyers’ Association, Colombo Magistrate’s Court Lawyers’ Association and the Bar Association of Badulla had opposed the government move.
There hadn’t been any public statements in support of the government move, MP Jayasekera said, urging the government to end uncertainty in the judiciary.
by Shamindra Ferdinando
SJB leader Sajith Premadasa has invited the UNP and other political parties to join his party. Premadasa, who is also the leader of the Opposition, has emphasised that the UNP and the SJB could reach a consensus on policies but his party wouldn’t, under any circumstances, accept whatever formula to share positions. Premadasa said so, speaking to the media over the weekend, after meeting the Mahanayaka Thera of the Malwatta Chapter of the Siyam Nikaya Most Venerable Thibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thera.
A statement issued by the Opposition Leader’s Office quoted MP Premadasa as having extended an invitation to all political parties to give up extremist policies and join the SJB.
The SJB leader alleged that the NPP government feared facing elections and that was the reason for the inordinate delay in holding Provincial Council polls. PC polls were last held in 2012, 2013 and 2014, on a staggered basis. Premadasa said that if PC polls were held his party would definitely win the majority of PCs.Premadasa also urged the government to reduce electricity tariffs and fuel prices.
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