Category: Featured Headlines

The Cabinet of Ministers has granted the approval to obtain a loan of USD 3.6 billion from Oman to purchase petroleum, says Energy Minister Udaya Gammanpila.

Delivering a statement issued today (October 22), the minister stated that preparations for agreements are currently underway.

Additionally, a loan facility of USD 500 million is expected to be obtained from India and it has been submitted for the Treasury’s approval, Minister Gammanpila said further.

Speaking further, he said the Central Bank governor has promised to release necessary funds to import fuel required for this month.

The energy minister assured that there will be no fuel shortage in the country.

Army Commander General Shavendra Silva said that Pfizer vaccines will be given to frontline workers engaged in prevention of COVID-19 as a booster dose from November 1.

Also , the provincial travel restrictions will be lifted at 4 a.m on October 31, General Silva said.

He told the Dailymirror that these decisions were taken at the Presidential Task Force of Covid-19 meeting held today.

Accordingly, the booster dose will be given to frontline workers of the health, military, police, tourism and other sectors who are fighting against Covid-19, he said.

The Commander said the train services will also be commenced within the provinces after October 25.

Ambassador of the United States of America to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz paid a farewell call on Foreign Minister Professor G. L. Peiris at the Foreign Ministry.

Minister Peiris discussed with Ambassador Teplitz the future of the bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and the United States, with particular reference to trade, investment and cooperation in the international fora.

Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz was sworn in as Ambassador to Sri Lanka and Maldives on October 22, 2018. She served as U.S. Ambassador to Nepal from 2015-2018.

A career member of the Senior Foreign Service with the rank of Career Minister, she joined the State Department in 1991 and is the recipient of numerous Superior and Meritorious Honor Awards.

Focused on laying the foundation for successful 21st century American diplomacy, Teplitz held the Assistant-Secretary ranked position of Dire​ctor of the Under Secretary for Management’s Office of Policy, Rightsizing, and Innovation (M/PRI) at the Department of State from 2012-2015.

Under her leadership, M/PRI found innovative ways to reform our bureaucracy and improve the way that our diplomatic service operates. Ms. Teplitz championed efforts to improve knowledge management, data use, and risk management.

Prior to leading M/PRI, Teplitz was Minister Counselor for Management at U.S. Embassy Kabul from 2011-2012. She also served as the Deputy Executive Director of the Near East and South and Central Asia Bureau’s joint executive office from 2009-2011, where she handled the South and Central Asia portfolio, including Afghanistan and Pakistan.

She was the Director of the Management Training Division at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute from 2007-2009. Previous assignments include Management Counselor in Dhaka, Bangladesh and Deputy Director of the Joint Administrative Services supporting three U.S. Missions – the U.S. Mission to NATO, the U.S. Mission to the European Union, and the Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium – in Brussels, Belgium. Her previous posts also include: Ulaanbaatar, Tirana, and Sydney.​

Teplitz holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a Master’s in Public Administration from Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs.​​​

The US needs to build constructive relationships with Sri Lanka, which is positioned in a strategic location at the heart of the Indian Ocean, a senior American diplomat nominated by President Joe Biden as his next envoy to the island nation has said.

Foreign service officer Julie Chung, during a Congressional hearing on Wednesday, told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that Sri Lanka is positioned in a strategic location at the heart of the Indian Ocean and its critical ports with access to global maritime lanes and trading routes play a pivotal role in a free and open Indo-Pacific architecture.

“This reinforces the necessity for the United States to build constructive relationships with Sri Lanka, including with civil society, the private sector and the Sri Lankan people,” she said.

Chung told lawmakers that if confirmed, she will work tirelessly to advocate for quality infrastructure and investment based on transparency, respect for international law and good governance, which is mindful of sustainable environmental and labour standards.

“We must also support US companies doing business in Sri Lanka and utilise the tools we have with the Development Finance Corporation and the Export-Import Bank to provide alternatives to coercive lending and opaque contracts,” she said, without naming any country.

US diplomat Chung said: “the sinking of the MV X-Press Pearl cargo ship near the shores of Colombo a few months ago, causing its biggest marine disaster in Sri Lanka’s history, points to the need for upholding such standards”.

“US humanitarian assistance, emergency response capabilities and environmental surveillance tools helped Sri Lanka respond to this tragedy and is emblematic of how we can be a positive force and strong partner to the people of Sri Lanka,” she said.

Sri Lanka, she said, is Asia’s oldest democracy and survived the tragedy of a civil war that resulted in unimaginable violence and continued ethnic and religious divisions.

“If confirmed, I am committed to speaking clearly and consistently in support of democratic values, human rights and a strong civil society that are essential to democracies and central to our foreign policy approach.

“We must also be strong partners in encouraging justice, accountability and reconciliation so that all Sri Lankans can share in the benefits of peace, security and prosperity,” Chung added.

Source: PTI

The China National Energy Engineering and Construction Company Limited (CNEE), a Chinese state-owned energy conglomerate, has offered to invest USD 800 million on 400 MW Renewable Energy Projects in Sri Lanka.

The equipment and knowhow will be supplied by KE Electric, according to the Sri Lankan Embassy in Beijing.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to China Dr. Kohona had recently visited the massive KE Electric plant in Shijuazhuang producing a range of equipment for the generation and distribution of electricity.

He was hosted by the Chairman of KE Electric, Chengsuo Zhang together with the Senior Management Team and was given a comprehensive tour of the establishment. Of particular interest was the equipment produced to generate and distribute electricity produced from solar power, the statement said.

Dr. Kohona explained the Government policy to produce 70% of Sri Lanka’s electricity needs from renewable sources by 2030. He also touched upon the locations being made available by the Government for the purpose.

He emphasised that the Government was looking for investors and will not take loans to finance any projects. The CINEE, which had already done some preliminary work on potential locations together with the KE Electric, was in the process of preparing its proposals.

Subsequently, the Sri Lankan team was taken on a tour of an impressive solar installation, Hongji PV Plant Project and Solar Demonstrative Project, in Beizhuang in Pingshan County of Shijiazhuang. Barren hillsides were covered with solar panels.

KE produced control equipment, inverters, transmission lines, etc., were evident. Interestingly, 25% of the revenue generated from this project was directly allocated to village upliftment and poverty alleviation.

A nearby village, which had witnessed devastation during the war against the Japanese, was now prospering from this novel source of income.

The proposed CNEE project is expected to be on a Build-Own-Operate (BOO) or Build-Own-Operate and Transfer (BOOT) basis, the embassy said.

Washington, DC: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States has urged the President Joe Biden and the Congress to probe the reports of discrimination and attacks against Muslims in Sri Lanka.

Responding to recent reports of Muslim minority communities being discriminated against and attacked by state and non-state actors in certain African countries and Sri Lanka, CAIR called on the Biden administration and Congress to investigate and respond to recent claims made by Amnesty International on Sri Lanka.

“State discrimination and violence against Muslim and minority faith communities should not just be condemned by our government but responded to in the form of punitive designations and sanctions – whether it is occurring in countries where Muslims are the majority or minority,” said CAIR Director of Government Affairs Department Robert S. McCaw.

This week, Amnesty International issued the report “Sri Lanka: From burning houses to burning bodies: Anti-Muslim violence, discrimination and harassment in Sri Lanka.” The report documents incidents where Muslims have been targeted, attacked and discriminated against, by various state and non-state actors.

CAIR supported Amnesty International’s call on the Sri Lankan government to put an immediate stop to the increasing police, armed forces and communal violence – and discriminatory state policies – targeting the island’s Muslim minority.