Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister visits Dutch Parliament

Saturday, 18 April 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The deputy Foreign Minister with members of the Dutch Parliament Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ajith P. Perera, who is currently in the Netherlands leading the Sri Lanka delegation at the Global Conference on Cyberspace – 2015 (GCCS 2015), visited the Dutch Parliament on the sidelines of the conference on 15 April. The meeting at the Parliament was chaired by Han Ten Boreke of the Liberal Party (VVD) who is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Chair of the Defence Committee of the House of Representatives. The meeting was also attended by members of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Development of the Senate representing the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), Socialist Party, Labour Party (PvdA), Democrats 66 and Party for Freedom (PVV) and Wathsala Amarasinghe, Chargé d’Affaires of the Sri Lanka Embassy. Among the issues discussed were the developments in Sri Lanka following the presidential election held on 8 January, including the steps being taken to strengthen democracy, the rule of law and good governance. The Deputy Minister briefed the members of the Dutch Parliament on the measures being taken to strengthen civilian administration in the Northern and the Eastern Provinces of the country, resettlement, review of high-security zones, release of land to the people and the reconciliation and constitutional reform processes. Recalling the historic connections between the two countries, Deputy Minister Perera welcomed Dutch investments especially in high-tech industries. The Government’s interest in attracting investments to the Northern and Eastern Provinces to assist in livelihood development was also discussed.