US Ambassador meets PM, discusses priorities of new Govt.

US Ambassador Alaina Teplitz with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa

• Commits to further bilateral cooperation on number of areas

US Ambassador Alaina Teplitz yesterday called on Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed priorities of the new Government. 

“The United States is interested in furthering cooperation with Sri Lanka on a number of sectors including economic, commercial, governance, security and development,” US envoy was quoted as saying to Prime Minister’s media. At the outset, Ambassador Teplitz congratulated the Prime Minister on what she described as a “very very successful campaign with very significant results”. Noting that the election was conducted in a free, fair and peaceful manner, she said the results showed the “rejection of the previous administration”.

“We look forward to working with the (new) Government,” the Ambassador said.

Asked about the new Government’s priorities, Prime Minister Rajapaksa said that economic recovery is currently the main priority due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ambassador Teplitz said “the Government certainly is to be commended for its success” in handling the COVID-19 outbreak, calling it “a big success story”. She further said that the Sri Lanka-US economic relationship is also a priority for the US, including help with generating new job opportunities for Sri Lankans in the private sector.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa also suggested that the US could provide assistance to Sri Lanka to establish vocational training centres around the country to better prepare the youth for job opportunities “There are many opportunities, especially with the strong advantage Sri Lanka has with a well-educated labour force,” Ambassador Teplitz said

In discussing the development sector, Prime Minister Rajapaksa informed the Ambassador that certain sectors of the population and certain areas of the country are lacking basic facilities. The Prime Minister highlighted the need for safe drinking water in certain parts of the country, noting that unsafe drinking water is a major cause of chronic kidney disease.

Other areas discussed included bringing in new investments to Sri Lanka, support for democratic institutions and governance-related projects, and cooperation on the security sector with a specific focus on counterterrorism, trafficking of people and narcotics, and addressing transnational crime.