US Congress members signal greater engagement and support for Sri Lanka

Two congressional delegations of the US House of Representatives visited Sri Lanka in February.  

The first was a bipartisan four-member delegation of the House Democracy Partnership (HDP) Committee led by Chairman Peter Roskam and Ranking Member David Price.  An eight-member bipartisan delegation led by the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte immediately followed. 

 Following up on the manifest greater engagement by the members of the US Congress with Sri Lanka, Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam met with several leading members of the US Congress in the past week.

The Ambassador had fruitful discussions with the leadership of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce and Chairman Ted Yoho of the House Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee. He met with Congressman David Price, the Ranking Member of the House Democracy Partnership, in a follow up to his visit to Sri Lanka for promoting deeper partnership with the HDP. The Ambassador also called on Senator Chris Van Hollen, the newly-appointed Senator for Maryland.

The Ambassador briefed the members of Congress on the progress made by the Unity Government in advancing good governance, the rule of law, political and economic reforms and reconciliation. Discussions centered on working towards expanding the partnership between the two countries in multiple spheres of cooperation.