Ambassador of France visits Trincomalee District

Saturday, 7 July 2012 00:03 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The scientific French Navy warship Dupuy De Lome is in a port visit in Trincomalee harbour until 6 July, the visit being the first of this kind in Trincomalee, since before the beginning of the war.

Ambassador of France Christine Robichon visited Trincomalee District, accompanying Commanding Officer Commander Grégoire Germain to a courtesy call on the Commander Eastern Naval Area Rear Admiral Jayanath Colombage.

In Trincomalee she was received by the Government Agent, Major General T.T.R. De Silva, and met with UNHCR, UNICEF and UNDP representatives. She also had exchanges with members of the local civil society.

The Ambassador visited several places in the district. In Kinniya, invited by the local NGO Kinniya Vision, partner of the French NGO Solidarité Laïque which receives French funds, the Ambassador took part to the distribution of furniture and teaching materials to pre-school teachers, who belong to the three main communities of Sri Lanka.

She also attended another ceremony in the same area, organised by the national NGO AKASA, which aims at empowering disabled women, and is funded by the European Union.

The two ceremonies in Kinniya were conducted in both Tamil and Singhalese languages, thanks to trilingual local volunteers. Both these NGOs play a positive role in associating the communities to pursue common purposes benefiting to children and women.

“I was very pleased to see the work these NGOs do, which contributes to the building of a constructive environment conducive to respect for diversity, with the support of France and the European Union,” the Ambassador said.

In Kantale, the engineers of Vinci and Société du Canal de Provence, two French companies, showed their work at the Mahaveli intake pumping station, and accompanied the Ambassador for a visit on the construction site of the rehabilitation and upgrade of the water treatment plant in Kantale; these projects, ordered by the National Water Supply and Water board, are financed by French concessional loans.

The Ambassador expressed her satisfaction regarding the progresses of the ongoing work, and recalled that upon completion of the construction, before the end of the year, 300, 000 people in Trincomalee District will have access to safe-drinking water.

The Ambassador also visited some cultural and religious sites, including the hot wells in Kinniya and the Thirukkoneswaram Temple in Trincomalee Fort.