Parliament, US House Democracy Partnership launch Collaboration Agreement

The Sri Lanka Parliament and the House Democracy Partnership of the U.S. House of Representatives launched a Collaboration Agreement to strengthen partnership between the two legislatures today, 14 September, in Washington D.C.

The Agreement was signed by Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and Representative Peter J. Roskam, Chairman of the House Democracy Partnership on behalf of the Sri Lanka Parliament and the House Democracy Partnership respectively.

The collaboration between the two legislatures is based on the principles of facilitating the exchange of information on the legislative systems of each country, sharing knowledge, and offering consultations on effective legislative management; and cooperating and assisting each other through training programs for the members and staff of the legislatures.

The signing of the Agreement was preceded by a roundtable conversation among the members of the House Democracy Partnership and the visiting parliamentary delegation of Sri Lanka led by the Speaker. Speaker Jayasuriya was joined by Deputy Minister of Power and Renewable Energy Ajith P. Perera, Deputy Minister of Parliament Reform and Mass Media Karunaratne Paranavithane, State Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Dasanayake and Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the United States of America Prasad Kariyawasam.

HDP Chairman Peter Roskam and Ranking Member Congressman David Price reflected on the strong bilateral ties that Sri Lanka and the United States have traditionally shared and the potential to further deepen relations through collaboration under the HDP. They were joined by Congresswomen Diane Black and Dina Titus, who signaled interest, particularly, in working with women parliamentarians.

Speaker Jayasuriya observed that the political transformation in Sri Lanka since the Presidential and Parliamentary elections last year and the formation of the National Unity Government have ushered in a new era for the Sri Lankan parliamentary system. He explained in detail democratic reforms undertaken by the Parliament during last 12 months. The Parliament, sitting as a Constitutional Assembly, is in the process of drafting a new Constitution, which is expected to be finalised next year. He thanked the HDP membership for the initiative to collaborate with Sri Lanka under the partnership.