|
Thursday, 12 May 2011 10:21 |
|
Statement by H.E. Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona, Ambassador and Permanent Representative
of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development 19th Session
11th May, 2011, New York Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is with great pleasure that I present a brief statement at the 19th session of the UN Commission on Sustainable Consumption and Production (CSD19).
As we rapidly approach Rio+20, the outcomes of CSD19 will be crucial to accelerate the discussions on sustainable development. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Tuesday, 10 May 2011 15:51 |
|
Statement by H.E. Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations UN Security Council Open Debate
10th May, 2011, New York Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict “While the protection of civilians caught in conflict situations is critical, the unfortunate politicization and selectivity that characterizes this discussion has affected its credibility. The willingness to adopt wild and unsubstantiated allegations made in the media, even those disowned by senior officials of the UN, is regrettable. Such an inconsistent approach and the unambiguous tendency to target the small and the weak for the rigorous application of principle also affect post-conflict reconciliation in complex country situations. Difficult reconciliation processes that are successfully moving ahead are disrupted by insensitive external interventions.” |
|
Read more...
|
|
Thursday, 05 May 2011 09:53 |
|
Statement by the Minister of External Affairs to Parliament on the Report of the Panel appointed by the Secretary General of the United Nations. Read more |
|
Tuesday, 05 April 2011 17:41 |
|
Sri Lanka and Montenegro established formal diplomatic relations on 04th April, 2011 in New York. Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations signed the Joint Communiqué on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, while his counterpart, Mr. Milorad Scepanoric signed for the Montenegro side. Following the signing ceremony, the two Permanent Representatives exchanged views to transform the newly established formal relations into a mutually beneficial long term link. The two sides discussed the possibility of exchanging high level visits at the earliest possible occasion. Montenegro was formerly a part of the Yugoslav Federation and currently maintains formal relations with over one hundred countries. The Joint Communiqué emphasised the efforts by the two countries to facilitate consolidating international peace and security, as well as peaceful coexistence. |
|
Tuesday, 15 March 2011 15:31 |
|
Sri Lanka Looks Ahead – Will Prosperity Bring Peace
March 14, 2011
Ambassador Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York After 27 years, Sri Lanka’s conflict ended suddenly and comprehensively on 18th May 2009. The violence ended and, since then, not a single suicide bomb has been exploded or a gun fired in anger. A reconstruction and reconciliation process is in full swing. An unprecedented effort is under way to revive the economy of the whole country – To bring prosperity to all our people. Let us also not forget that the scars of 27 years will not be healed in a two years. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Tuesday, 10 May 2011 18:01 |
|
Sri Lanka and Ecuador establish diplomatic relations
Sri Lanka and Ecuador established formal diplomatic relations on 09th May, 2011 in New York. Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations signed the Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka, while his counterpart, Mr. Francisco Carrion Mena signed for the Ecuadorian side.
The two Permanent Representatives expressed their expectation that this agreement will significantly contribute to the consolidation of bilateral relations, particularly the promotion of commerce, trade, cultural relations and friendship between the two countries. Both sides agreed to work closely in international particularly on political issues. The importance of sharing each others’ expertise in the fields of tourism, agriculture and energy was also discussed.
|
|
Friday, 06 May 2011 14:06 |
|
Joint Media Release
The Minister of Agriculture of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardane, and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of the State of Israel Orit Noked, who is currently on a bilateral visit to Sri Lanka, explored new vistas of mutual cooperation between Sri Lanka and Israel . They agreed that the field of agriculture carries a great potential for joint cooperation in the future.
Both Ministers highlighted the fields of dairy production, nurseries, post harvest technologies, water management and potato cultivation for potential mutual collaboration.
The Ministers further agreed that cooperation in the agricultural sector, implemented through close partnerships between the Governments as well as business entities would add further impetus to the burgeoning relations between the two countries.
Colombo
5th May 2011 |
|
Monday, 11 April 2011 16:42 |
|
Statement by Ambassador H.E. Palitha T.B. Kohona
Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations
The Rule of Law and Global Challenges
General Assembly Thematic Debate
11th April, 2011 Having recently emerged from a world where might prevailed and the weak suffered, let us not forget that fundamentally, the rule of law serves as a critical bulwark for mediating and facilitating between and among competing and often divisive interests between the powerful and the weak and between the rich and the poor, at the national and international levels. Any tendency to return to an age where force prevailed, in order to enforce concepts of the rule of law as understood by some must be avoided. It is also an often repeated error to expect the poor, the weak and the under-resourced to immediately be in unmistakable compliance with standards that may have taken hundreds of years to develop by their champions. |
|
Read more...
|
|
Monday, 28 March 2011 16:53 |
|
The new Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs, Mr. Karunatilaka Amunugama assumed office today (28th March 2011) at the Ministry at a simple ceremony. He was welcomed on his arrival by senior officials of the Ministry. Mr. Amunugama was appointed as the new External Affairs Secretary succeeding Mr. Romesh Jayasinghe. Mr. Amunugama joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1985 and has served in many Sri Lanka Missions abroad. He has also served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Bangkok, Tokyo and Beijing, prior to his appointment as the External Affairs Secretary. Ministry of External Affairs
Colombo 28th March 2011 |
|
Wednesday, 09 March 2011 18:40 |
|
Environmental Issues at the United Nations
Pace University, Law School, New York
8th March, 2011 H.E. Dr. Palitha Kohona
Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Good afternoon. We are entering a critical stage in our efforts to address the serious threat of climate change. There is no doubt that human caused factors are responsible for the phenomenon of climate change. The vast majority of scientists agree on this. Increasingly, the skeptics are coming over. Significantly, there was agreement among states on this at Cancun. The final document recognizes this. However, we are still haggling on what we should do and who should pay for doing it although the principle of common and differentiated responsibility was agreed upon at least by 1992. With every passing day we see the problem getting further aggravated. Highly respected studies have suggested that the cost of addressing the problem now would be much less than the cost of repairing the eventual damage. We are really talking about the living conditions of the next generation, the rich, the poor, the democratic, the non-democratic, in fact all of us. We are talking about the world that we will leave behind. Today, I will limit my comments to the question of funding the cost of addressing the problem. |
|
Read more...
|
|
