UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s Chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar meets with President Rajapaksa

Ban Ki Moon’s Chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar meets President Rajapaksa

UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s Chief of staff, Vijay Nambiar met with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogolagama today for talks. The situation in the Safe Zone and that of UN staff prevented from leaving IDP camps in Vavuniya was believed to have figured in the discussions

Nambiar meets Defernce secratary

Mr. Vijay Nambiar the Chief of Staff of the UN Secretary General had a discussion with Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa last evening. Mr. Nambiar was accompanied by Mr. Hitoki Den of the UN Department for Political affairs and the UN Resident Representative in Colombo Neil Buhne.

SAARC CULTURAL CENTRE GOVERING BOARD

SAARC CULTURAL CENTRE GOVERING BOARD
MEETS IN COLOMBO

The Governing Board of the SAARC Cultural Centre held its first meeting at Galadari Hotel in Colombo on 6-7 April 2009 with the participation of Members from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and officials of the SAARC Secretariat.

The Meeting followed the ceremonial opening of the Office of the SAARC Cultural Centre in Colombo on 25 March by Minister of Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama.

The delegation of Sri Lanka to the Meeting made a presentation on the construction of the building in Nawimana, Matara which will be the eventual home of the SAARC Cultural Centre. The building is designed in line with traditional architecture in the region, especially the concept of ‘touching the ground lightly’ where construction is carried out in harmony with nature.

The Director of the Centre, G.L.W. Samarasinghe, presented the programmes that the Centre plans to undertake in its first year of operation in 2010 in keeping with the mandate of the Centre which is to promote the distinctive arts of South Asia and the SAARC Agenda for Culture which was approved by the Foreign Secretaries of SAARC at their meeting in New Delhi in 2007.

The activities approved by the Governing Board for implementation by the Centre in 2010 include a Symposium on Shared Heritage of Sculpture and Decorative Arts in South Asia and a Seminar on Rituals, Ethics and Societal Stability in the SAARC region.

The Meeting was chaired by Director of the Department of Culture of Bhutan Dorjee Tshering.

Presidents Visits Kilinochchi -Historic visit

Presidents Visits Kilinochchi
President mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday made a surprise visit to kilinochhchi.
This is the first visit by a Head of State to this part of Sri Lanka after the first Prime Minister Rt. Hon. Mahamanya D.S. Senanayake toured the area in early 1950s.

The President made this goodwill visit during the traditional Sinhala and Hindu New Year period to meet with the troops stationed there as well as IDPs and other civilians.During this historic visit President Rajapaksa praised the achievements of the security forces. the President said he was glad he was able to provide the proper political leadership[ to achieve the military victories.

"This was somthing the past governments could not do" he said.

Pictures by: SUDATH SILVA

For more details and pictures http://www.defence.lk/new.asp?fname=20090416_10