Rao meets Rajapaksa in Colombo, apprises him of work for IDPs

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao distributing the consignment of Indian assistance to recently resettled IDPs in Omanthai, Sri Lanka on August 31, 2010.

Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao called on Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo today and apprised him of her visit to the Northern and Eastern provinces of the island-nation and the assistance projects being undertaken by India for the benefit of internally displaced persons (IDPs).

An official press release issued here today by the Ministry of External Affairs said Mr Rajapaksa welcomed India's assistance.

Ms Rao also met with leaders of major political parties, including UNP Leader and Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, as well as leaders of the Tamil National Alliance and the Ceylon Workers’ Congress.

On the final day of her three-day visit tomorrow, she will be hosted for breakfast by Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G L Peiris. She will also hold further meetings with delegations of other political parties before departing for India later in the afternoon, the release said.

Earlier in the day, Ms Rao, who had visited Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Jaffna yesterday, travelled to Mullaitivu and Trincomalee today.

In Mullaitivu, which was one of the districts most affected by the recent conflict, she received a briefing from the Government Agent (GA) there, Mr. N. Vethanayakam, on the status of efforts for resettling IDPs and rebuilding essential infrastructure in the region.

While 16,000 families have already been resettled in Mullaitivu, the GA said that de-mining was still a factor preventing the resettlement of others. He expressed deep appreciation for the assistance that had been received from the Government of India for resettling IDPs.

The Foreign Secretary subsequently met with a group of IDPs at the District Secretariat Office and distributed roofing sheets and agricultural toolkits among them.

Speaking on the occasion, she praised the spirit of the people of the region, saying that they had come through a very difficult challenge. She reiterated India’s concern for the welfare of the people of this region and said that India would continue to work with the Government of Sri Lanka to help resettle the people and rebuild their lives.

While speaking about India’s pledge to build 50,000 houses in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka, she underlined that this would be done using local expertise and resources wherever available so that employment could be generated locally. She emphasized that peace was necessary for development and that the need of the hour was to look forward and benefit from the tremendous potential that Sri Lanka had as a country to grow and prosper.

In Trincomalee, Ms Rao met the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, Mr. Sivanesathurai Sandirakanthan at the Eastern Provincial Council offices and discussed with him various projects with which India was assisting in the Eastern Province and others that were in the pipeline.

She noted in particular the project on housing, a project to assist war widows in Batticaloa by the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and another to build a vocational training centre in Eastern Province. She also invited the Chief Minister to visit India at his convenience.

Ms Rao also called on the Governor of the Eastern Province, Rear Admiral (Rtd) Mohan Wijewickrema, who briefed her on the development work undertaken in a number of sectors in the province following the restoration of peace in mid-2007. He also outlined future investment opportunities in the province, especially in the area of tourism.

While in Trincomalee, the Foreign Secretary visited the Koneswaram Temple and handed over to the temple management the keys of a bus gifted to the temple by the Government of India, the release added.

NNN