Foreign Secretary Smt Nirupama Rao continued her visit to Sri Lanka by traveling to Mullaitivu and Trincomalee on 1st September. She had visited Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Jaffna on 31st August.

    In Mullaitivu, which was one of the districts most affected by the recent conflict, Foreign Secretary received a briefing from the Government Agent (GA) of Mullaitivu, Mr. N. Vethanayakam, on the status of efforts directed at resettling IDPs and rebuilding essential infrastructure in the region. While 16,000 families have already been resettled in Mullaitivu, the GA informed Foreign Secretary 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. 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, Smt Nirupama Rao 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.

    Foreign Secretary next visited Trincomalee. She held a meeting with 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. Foreign Secretary also invited the Chief Minister to visit India at his convenience.

    Foreign Secretary 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, 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.

    Returning to Colombo, Foreign Secretary called on His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, at Temple Trees. She apprised him of her visit to the Northern and Eastern provinces and the assistance projects being undertaken by India for the benefit of the IDPs. President Rajapaksa welcomed India’s assistance.

    Foreign Secretary 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 visit on 2nd September, 2010, Foreign Secretary will be hosted for breakfast by the Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka, Hon. G.L.Peiris. She will hold further meetings with delegations of other political parties as well before departing for India later in the afternoon.