News
SL wants to be included in EU’s Global Gateway Strategy
Head of Mission to the European Union, Ambassador Grace Asirwatham, has requested that Sri Lanka, too, be included in the Global Gateway Strategy to develop emerging markets in the fields, such as digital technology, energy and the environment.
Launched in late 2021, under the French Presidency of the European Union (EU), the Global Gateway Strategy is a European Commission initiative that contributes to the growth of developing countries which are EU partners.
A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry here quoted Ambassador Asirwatham as having told the Managing Director for Asia and Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS), Niclas Kvarnstrom, the need for tangible actions to translate the EU’s cooperation strategies into impactful results and that the Global Gateway Programme, initiated with pilot projects in a number of countries in the Indo-Pacific region, should also consider investments in small and vulnerable economies, such as Sri Lanka.
She has expressed hope that the EU’s Indo-Pacific cooperation strategy would progress from strategy to action in an inclusive way.
The outgoing Sri Lanka’s top envoy in Brussels has said so during a detailed discussion with Niclas Kvarnstrom on the EU’s Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy. The Head of Division for South Asia and Regional Affairs Rensje Teerink, Deputy Head of South Asia and Regional Affairs Monika Bylaite, Desk Officer for Sri Lanka at the EEAS Galia Agisheva, and Second Secretary of the Sri Lanka Mission Dulmini Dahanayake, were present at the meeting.
Ambassador Asirwatham expressed appreciation at the outset for the far-reaching objectives outlined in the EU’s Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy and underscored Sri Lanka’s deep commitment to maintaining a secure and prosperous Indian Ocean that upholds the rights of all countries, emphasizing the importance of freedom of navigation in line with the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS).
In the context of Sri Lanka’s current chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the Ambassador highlighted the potential for enhanced cooperation in the region, while respecting shared values.
Managing Director for Asia and Pacific at the EEAS Niclas Kvarnstrom shared the EU’s strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific Region, underscoring collaboration in trade and commerce, green and clean energy transition, and addressing common challenges, such as climate change and natural disasters, as well as security issues.
Managing Director Kvarnstrom has acknowledged Ambassador Asirwatham’s perspectives on the EU’s Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy and assured that her views would be given due consideration under the Global Gateway Programme. He acknowledged Sri Lanka’s active participation in ministerial meetings, lauding the country’s keen interest in the Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy and its commitment to guiding the strategy toward collective success.
Protesting Development Officers continued their hunger strike near the Presidential Secretariat, Colombo yesterday (01), for the seventh consecutive day.The protesters, who are members of the Lanka School Development Officers’ Association, are demanding that they be absorbed into the teacher service as they have served as teachers in state-run schools for nearly seven years.
Secretary of the Association, Viraj Manaranga, said the protesters were seeking an urgent meeting with the President. He added that a presidential aide had visited the protest site and offered to arrange for a meeting with the President on 03 Feb., but the union insisted on an earlier date. Manaranga warned that failure to grant a meeting could trigger a massive protest in Colombo today (02).
Four officers participating in the hunger strike have been hospitalised due to deteriorating health, while two more joined the fast on Saturday (31).
In a bid to raise awareness of their grievances, on 30 January a delegation of the All Island Development Officers’ Association visited Most Venerable
Warakagoda Sri Gnanarathana Thera, Mahanayake of the Asgiriya Chapter, and subsequently with the Chapter’s Registrar, Ven. Dr. Medagama Dhammananda Thera. The prelates said promises that had been made to them should be fulfilled.
The protest began on 26 January as a satyagraha, after authorities failed to respond to repeated requests to integrate the officers into the teaching service. The escalation into a fast-unto-death underscores the protesters’ frustration over the prolonged delay
by Pradeep Prasanna Samarakoon
The long-vacant post of Auditor General would be filled on 03 Feb., after months of controversy and delays, Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayake said on Friday (31) in Kandy.
The Constitutional Council met at the Parliamentary complex on Friday to discuss the appointment but failed to reach a decision on a suitable candidate. The President had previously proposed four names on four separate occasions, all of which were rejected. The Council is now set to consider the fifth nominee.
The post has remained vacant since April 2025, following the retirement of Chulanta Wickramaratne, who served as the 41st Auditor General. More than 10 months have passed without a permanent appointment.
Sources said a female officer in the Auditor General’s Department has been nominated again, though her previous recommendation was rejected due to some allegations against her.
Meanwhile, senior audit officer Dharmapala Gammanpila, with 31 years of service and the department’s most senior official, has received backing from the Mahanayake Theras of the three Nikayas, the Maha Sangha, and several civil society groups for appointment as the 42nd Auditor General.
Sources noted that the three civil society representatives on the Constitutional Council will play a crucial role in the final decision.
by Chaminda Silva and SK Samaranayake
Two 18-year-old youth were arrested by the Southern Division of the Western Province Crime Division on 31 January for allegedly aiding and abetting two murders carried out in Dehiwala and Kohuwala. ICE (crystal meth) was found in their possession at the time of arrest.
The suspects are residents of Mount Lavinia and Boralesgamuwa, according to the police. They are accused of having helped carry out a murder at a hotel in the Dehiwala Police Division on 9 January, 2026, and an attack on a person travelling in a three-wheeler at Bodhiyawatta, Kohuwala, on 12 December, 2025.
Police said the charges included sending photographs of the victims to a criminal living overseas.
Investigations revealed that the youth had acted under the direction of a criminal known as Sando.
Under the guidance of Janaka Kumara, Director of the Southern Division of the Western Province Crime Division, investigations are being led by Police Inspector Hemanta Kumara, assisted by Sub-Inspectors Prasanna Gunathilaka and Prasanna (40248), and Constables Chaminda (72987), Anil (79598), Kumar (88762), and Senanayake (19363), who are continuing the probe.
by Norman Palihawadane and Chaminda Silva
China executes four more Myanmar mafia members
No decision yet on ICC meeting to discuss Pakistan boycott
Shoulder injury casts doubt over Eshan Malinga’s T20 World Cup
Showers expected in the Northern, North-central, Eastern, Western, Uva, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and Central provinces
Development Officers threaten to intensify their protest
Auditor General to be appointed tomorrow
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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