Foreign Affairs Minister of Sri Lanka, Ali Sabry, met with India’s Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, on May 3 to discuss the further strengthening of bilateral relations and economic partnership between the two nations. The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 56th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Seoul, was attended by around 3,000-4,000 participants, including Ministers of Finance, Governors of Central Banks, Senior Officials of the major global banks, companies, and media.

During the meeting, Sabry expressed his gratitude to Sitharaman and the Indian government for their assistance and support towards Sri Lanka during its difficult and challenging times, contributing positively towards its recovery process. The foreign minister will also deliver a statement at the Governor’s Business Session on May 4, among other interventions during the period.

The Director General of the Department of External Resources, Ajith Abeysekera, is accompanying Sabry on the visit.

In a recent announcement, the Cabinet has granted approval for public sector employees who have submitted their nominations as candidates for the upcoming Local Government election to work in the nearest local government constituency, other than the one in which they are competing. This decision was taken after reviewing the recommendations made by the Election Commission on measures to be taken about government employees until the election is held.

The proposal was made to the Cabinet of Ministers by State Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government, Janaka Wakkumbura. According to Wakkumbura, the Election Commission had suggested paying the respective salaries and allowances to public sector employees participating in the Local Government election, which had been postponed several times due to funding issues.

Wakkumbura made the statement on Tuesday (May 02) and highlighted the importance of supporting public sector employees who wish to take part in the Local Government election. The decision allows for candidates to work in a local government constituency close to their home or workplace, enabling them to participate in the election without being hindered by their employment status.

This move is expected to encourage more public sector employees to run for office and participate in the democratic process of the country. The decision will also ensure that the election is fair and free, with no undue influence or limitations on candidates.

Photo Captions:

1. CCCU representatives together with senior officials of Saegis Campus 

2. Seen here is CCCU’s Director of Partnership Dr. Lorna Thomas and Deputy Director Dr. Katy Warden

Saegis Campus, one of the leading higher education providers in the country with its state-of-the-art learning facility situated at the heart of Colombo, recently had the honour of welcoming two esteemed representatives from its long-affiliated Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), UK, further strengthening the partnership between the two institutions.

CCCU’s Director of Partnership Dr. Lorna Thomas and Deputy Director of Partnerships Dr. Katy Warden, during their visit to Saegis Campus, also graced the inaugural ceremony of the 10th batch of the Master of Business Administration and BSc (Hons) Business Management degree programmes.

The senior officials at the Saegis Campus held active discussions on the potential opportunities of expanding its partnership to newer horizons, with the aim of delivering a better learning experience for all its students, through the many undergraduate and postgraduate programmes offered by the Canterbury Christ Church University, UK. 

Students at Saegis Campus are continuously assured of a stimulating learning environment, with complimentary Wi-Fi, a modern IT lab, language lab, library, a relaxing lounge, spacious air-conditioned digital lecture halls, a cafeteria, sports and recreational activities, among others. It also provides career guidance and personality development activities, free English language classes, a Leo Club and a Rotaract Club, and additional academic support.

Saegis Campus also received approval from the Ministry of Education (MOE) to launch the UGC-recognized BBM (Hons) Tourism & Hospitality Management, delivered under the Faculty of Management, Humanities & Social Sciences and Postgraduate Studies. Saegis Campus currently offers 11 degrees approved by the MOE in the streams of Management, Computing and English, including BBM (Hons) in Logistics and Supply Chain Management.

With tourism making its rebound in the country and across the world, this four-year programme aims to prepare students to take on the diverse career opportunities industry has to offer. This includes guaranteed internship placements, which have a proven 100pct employability rate.   

Students could opt in for their interest-free monthly installment payment option to study their preferred degree programme at Saegis Campus. Special scholarships of up to 75pct are also offered for the upcoming 2023 intake. For more information, please contact 0770430000 or visit www.saegis.edu.lk.

Prevailing showery condition over the island is expected to continue further during the next few days as well.

Showers or thundershowers will occur over most parts of the island after 1.00pm.

Showers may occur in coastal areas of Western and Southern provinces and in Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Mannar and Puttalam districts during the morning too.

Fairly heavy showers of about 100 mm are likely at some places in Eastern and Uva provinces and in Polonnaruwa district. Fairly heavy showers above 75 mm are likely at some places elsewhere over the island.

General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.

1. Census and Statistics Dept data shows the “Real Economy” has plunged to unprecedented depths in the wake of the debt default and interest rate hikes: negative growth at 8.4%, 11.8% & 12.4% in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters of 2022: CB data also shows a severe crash of USD 523 in the per capita income from USD 3,997 in 2021 to USD 3,474 in 2022.
2. Former Commonwealth Fund Advisor Dr. Garvin Karunaratne says Professor Vasanta Atukorale has stated that the recent increases in taxes amounts to a staggering 441%: also says IMF’s experts fail to understand that implementing the reforms will cause untold hardships to the public and may lead to a severe recession: claims that may perhaps be the ulterior motive of the IMF.
3. SL Banks’ Association laments Govt’s lack of transparency in dealings with SLBA: says banks’ Capital Adequacy and Liquidity Coverage Ratios are now within regulatory requirements and must not be depleted through debt re-structuring: also says credit impairments have hit an all-time high and any further impairment is not sustainable: reiterates that maintaining stability of the banking system is paramount at this time.
4. Foreign Minister M U M Ali Sabry who has taken responsibility for announcing the now-infamous debt default on 12th April 2022, says “encouraging signs” have been seen thus far on the debt re-structuring process: admits SL is not out of the woods as yet: Sabry’s response was in answer to the comment that the ADB was predicting that the situation in Sri Lanka will get worse later this year.
5. CSE indices end at an over 2-month low due to very poor company earnings in 2023Q1, domestic debt re-structuring fears, and the President’s comments on the potential closure of the stock market: ASPI plunges 3.03% or 272 points to 8,711: bourse has now fallen for 11 consecutive market days, the 1st time since 24Jul’01, after the LTTE attack on the Colombo Airport: shareholder wealth wiped out in this 11-market day period amounts to a staggering Rs. 288 bn.
6. IMF raises Asia’s economic forecast but warns of risks from persistent inflation & global market volatility: urges Central Banks in Asia including Sri Lanka to keep monetary policy tight to bring down inflation.
7. Chairman, Litro Gas announces that the price of a 12.5 kg cylinder of Litro domestic LP gas will be reduced by around Rs.100 with effect from midnight on 3 May: prices of other cylinders also to be reduced proportionately.
8. Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella says a Govt-appointed committee was misled by a professional on the highly controversial issue of ground-water contamination from COVID-19 burials.
9. SL’s top mobile telecommunication firm Dialog Axiata merges operations with India’s Bharti Artel.
10. Chief of the Vedda community, Uruwarige Wannila Aththo files Writ Petition in the Court of Appeal against the Mahaweli Authority’s decision to de-forest their traditional homelands in the Rambakan Oya area and hand them over to private companies for various cultivation purposes.

In an effort to promote and safeguard the freedom of press and expression, the United Nations General Assembly has declared May 3 as World Press Freedom Day. This day aims to raise awareness of the significance of a free press and remind governments of their obligation to uphold and protect the right to freedom of expression, which is protected under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The first celebration of World Press Freedom Day was held in 1993, following a recommendation made by the General Conference of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). The date of May 3 was selected to commemorate the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of press freedom principles issued by African journalists in Windhoek, Namibia, in 1991.

Since then, the annual celebration of World Press Freedom Day has served as an important occasion for individuals and organizations around the world to come together and advocate for the right to freedom of expression and access to information. The day is marked by various events, including conferences, seminars, and debates, which aim to highlight the challenges faced by journalists and media organizations, as well as to discuss potential solutions to the issues at hand.

This year’s World Press Freedom Day theme is “Information as a Public Good,” which emphasizes the critical role that information plays in shaping public opinion and promoting accountability, transparency, and democracy. It also underscores the need to ensure that all individuals have access to accurate and reliable information, particularly in the age of digital media and misinformation.

In a statement released yesterday, the Minister of Public Security, Tiran Alles, commended all political parties and organizations for conducting peaceful May Day rallies and demonstrations on May 1 to celebrate International Labour Day. He expressed his gratitude to all the Police officers who had worked tirelessly to ensure public safety during the events.

Minister Alles stated that a special security program had been launched at all venues where May Day celebrations and meetings were held to maintain law and order.

He also acknowledged the support of all political parties that participated in the events, highlighting their cooperation with the police officers without interfering with their duties.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Iran, in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and the Association of Air Transport and Tourist Agencies in Iran, organized a media briefing session on “Emerging Trend of Destination Sri Lanka among Iran Tourists” at the Embassy premises in Tehran on 26 April 2023.  The interactive media briefing event was attended by over 65 representatives from Iran tourism Ministry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran, travel associations, travel & tour operators, airlines, bloggers, TV & radio channels, travel and tourism media personnel.

Objective of the media briefing was to demonstrate the recent developments in Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and to recognize the efforts made by tourism stakeholders in Iran specially travel agencies, tour operators, airlines and media activists in achieving the recent tourism growth between the two countries. The media event was one of the Embassy’s key activities in 2023 to expand the two-way tourism floor between Sri Lanka and Iran with the aim of enhancing people-to-people contact.

Welcoming the special guests and tourism stakeholders to the event, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Iran, G.M.V. Wishwanath Aponsu emphasized the importance of tourism industry for Sri Lanka’s present economy and underlined that this industry was the first key sector to recover in the country after an unprecedented economic crisis post impact of COVID-19 pandemic. Highlighting more than 77% growth of tourist arrivals’ from Iran to Sri Lanka during the period of January to March 2023 than in 2022, the Sri Lankan envoy stressed that Iran was among the top ten tourism source markets in the month of March 2023 in Sri Lanka tourism.

In his speech, the Secretary General of the Asian Mayors Forum (AMF), Dr. Hamid Reza Gholamzadeh thanked Ambassador Wishwanath Aponsu for the invitation and expressed that his organization could create an interactive network and active, effective and structured cooperation among the AMF member cities in urban tourism. He further spoke of the role tourism plays in strengthening ties among different nations and urged media to engage more in tourism activities. The Chairman of the Association of Air Transport and Tourist Agencies of Iran, Hussein Rafiei appreciated Ambassador Aponsu’s  uninterrupted effort for boosting tourism between the two countries and underscored  that everyone should work collectively to expand the two-way tourism floor for the benefit of both nations.  

The Embassy in its comprehensive detailed presentation showcased the multidimensional features of Sri Lanka as a must visit destination in the world, with a focus on areas of special interest specially to Iran travelers.  Highlighting the most popular tourist locations in Sri Lanka and its unique features, an attractive tourism video clip with latest information on Sri Lanka tourism was also screened.  

During the media briefing, Ambassador Wishwanath Aponsu presented awards for 15 selected top tourism stakeholders who facilitated to send highest number of tourists from Iran to     Sri Lanka during the first quarter of 2023 as well as their contributions to promote the Sri Lanka tourism in Iran. While recalling the Embassy’s tourism promotion initiatives since 2021, he stated that the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Tehran expects the continued cooperation of all tourism stakeholders in Iran to further expand the existing relations in the field of tourism between the two countries.   

In the presence of all participants, AMF Secretary General Dr. Hamidreza Gholamzadeh and Ambassador Wishwanath Aponsu together with special guests including Expert of the Iran Foreign Ministry Mohammad Deldari, Head (Foreign Tourism) of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts of Iran Hamid Eghbali and Chairman of the Association of Air Transport and Tourist Agencies Hussein Rafiei opened a Sri Lanka Tourism Information Center in the Embassy. The first-ever Tourism Information Center of the Embassy provides visitors more information on Sri Lanka tourism with brochures, maps and travel guides and updates of   Sri Lanka tourism. The guests were treated to a reception with a serving of Ceylon Tea.

Embassy of Sri Lanka  

Tehran

02 May,  2023