Report of the ICAPP Mission’s Visit to Sri Lanka

(July 4-5, 2013)

On behalf of the ICAPP Standing Committee, Hon. Chung Eui-yong, Co-Chairman of the Standing Committee and Secretary General, visited Sri Lanka during July 4-5, 2013 and had meetings with the leaders of both the governing Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the opposition United National Party (UNP). The following is the brief report on the results of the visit.

First, meetings with the leaders of SLFP were separately held with H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Chairman of SLFP, Hon. G.L.Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, Hon. Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of Health and General Secretary of SLFP, and Hon. Nimal Siripala de Silva, Leader of the House of Parliament and Minister of Irrigation and Water Resources Management.

In particular, H.E. President Mahinda Rajapaksa expressed his strong support for the activities of the ICAPP and agreed to host of the 8^th General Assembly of the ICAPP in Colombo in September 2014, and designated Minister of External Affairs as the focal point to discuss details regarding preparations for the 8^th GA.

At the follow up meetings with the other leaders of SLFP, it was agreed that the SLFP would follow the tradition of the ICAPP and provide necessary cooperation to participants as the host of the GA, including local accommodation for up to two representatives for each delegation and conference facilities. It was also agreed that other details, including the exact dates for the GA, would be worked out between the Minister of External Affairs and the Secretary General of the ICAPP in due course.

In addition, it was agreed that the representative of SLFP would participate in the 21st Meeting of the ICAPP Standing Committee in November as a Special Participant and make an initial presentation on how to organize the 8^th GA in close coordination with the ICAPP Secretariat. It was also agreed that SLFP would closely coordinate and cooperate with all political parties in Sri Lanka in the process of preparations for the GA. In particular, an idea was suggested during the consultations that the two main political parties of Sri Lanka, the SLFP and the UNP, co-host the event as was the 4^th GA held in Seoul, Korea in September 2006.

Second, the meeting at the headquarters of the UNP was attended, on the Sri Lankan side, by Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, Chairman of the UNP, Hon. Tissa Attanayke, General Secretary, Hon. Daya Dharmapala Gamage, National Organizer, and three other Members of Parliament. They all welcomed the decision by the SLFP to host the 8^th GA, and agreed to fully support to make the GA successful. They also expressed their hope to be invited to the 21st SC Meeting as a Special Participant together with the representative of the SLFP.