Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister urges international community to support Sri Lanka’s political, social and economic reforms
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry at the United Nations General Assembly in the United States of America.
Sri Lanka’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Sabry said that confronted with overlapping challenges, developing countries and their economies are at extreme risk with Governments facing debt-default and financial collapse due to a lack of access to adequate capital, while people face rising poverty, unemployment, hunger and education disruption.
He called for the international community’s cooperation and support as his country embarks on political, social and economic reforms. “We are pleased to have reached a staff level understanding with the IMF,” he said, noting his country’s efforts to reach the most vulnerable through economic reforms.
He said that external and internal challenges Sri Lanka faces provide an opportunity for implementing political, social and economic reforms that will lead to recovery and prosperity for the people.
Freedom of expression is sacrosanct and must be exercised within the confines of the law, he said addressing the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Saturday (Sep. 24).
On COVID-19, Sri Lanka’s vaccination drive exceeded WHO targets, yet the country was vulnerable to the pandemic’s economic fallout, he said, stressing the importance of multilateral cooperation through global health networks.
Highlighting Sri Lanka’s commitments to the targets of the Paris Agreement and its aim of reducing emissions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, he called on the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases to fulfil their commitments and assist developing nations in adaptation and mitigation measures.
“As an island nation, we are acutely concerned about and sensitive to the impact of pollution and climate change on oceans,” he said, and the sustainable use of their resources, he underscored, while also supporting a sustainable transformation of agriculture to ensure food security, especially for children.
Bridging the digital divide is another goal, and on human capital investments, he noted that Sri Lanka is ranked in the high human development category, occupying rank 73 out of 191 countries globally, and is the highest in the Asia-Pacific region.
Turning to disarmament, he said that agreed frameworks for arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament have become fragile and expressed regret that a consensus outcome wasn’t reached at the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
He restated Sri Lanka’s consistent, principled position that the Palestinian people have a legitimate, inalienable right to the natural resources in their territory and to statehood and the urgent need to attain a two-State solution.
The absence of a regulatory supervisory regime concerning the use of new technologies in cyberspace and in artificial intelligence needs to be addressed urgently, he said, noting the implementation of Sri Lanka’s first Information and Cyber Security Strategy and stressing the importance of establishing a partnership-based approach to protect cyberspace from multinational cyberthreats.
Noting Sri Lanka was a victim of terrorism for several decades, he called for legislative measures and law enforcement mechanisms to counter terrorism and radical ideologies. To contribute to international peace and security, Sri Lanka looks forward to enhancing its participation in peacekeeping operations, he said.
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what bullshit you are talking about man. If you protect human-rights, what re you doing in Sri Lanka, attacking protestors and demonstrators.
Bas,
What do the protesters and demonstrators intend to achieve?
Sri Lankans are so used to subsidised food, fuel and energy that when confronted with reality, the goons are leading the protests.
As opposed to taking free showers in Police Water Cannons, I urge the general population to be innovative and create their homegrown solutions to meet with reality.
The JVP led by dumb-head AKD and its affiliated Socialist Youth and some elements of Samagi and that pest called Stalin are bent on creating chaos leading to anarchy.
Is that OK with you Bas?
NATIONAL SECURITY is PARAMOUNT and is MUCH,MUCH MORE IMPORTANT than Human Rights. People who killed thousands of Sinhala Youth are today PARAGONS of Human Rights !!! Sri Lankan Citizens will and should NEVER, EVER FORGET THESE KILLERS.
Roxie de Abrew . You and that Indra seems to have the answer to all these problems. Why don’t you two contest for the presidency in the next election.
Dear Ranjith,
I cannot speak for Indra Akke, the matriarchal blogger in Onlanka.
Me, I will never go to politics because I know my limitations.
To tell you a story, in the early phases of the Aragalaya, before it was taken over by FSP/IUSF, by JVP’s Socialist Students and the pest called Stalin, we were producing seedlings for vegetables in Galle Face in discarded plastic bottles for free distribution to the Aragalayists.
When the Aragalaya went sour, we returned to our village and were given access to 1/2 acre of land by the local Pohottu MP where we have created a community vegetable garden for 140 families.
All labor is voluntary and the produce is gathered by the 140 families free of charge. In fact, the 140 families are self sufficient in their vegetable and spice needs.
If we can get another 1/2 acre, we will rear a couple of cows for dairy needs of the 140 families.
If this can happen in every village, the so-called ‘famine’will be a thing of the past.
Of course, each person has a choice to follow their own calling and also, enjoy earning more than SL P + SL PM.
Dear Roxie . I don’t know what this fuss is about. Today the best place in the world to live is Sri Lanka. The opportunities for the youngsters make a fortune is massive, 1/3 of the Youngs are going abroad to work (they feel shame to do similar work in SL that they going to do in other countries). 1/3 waste their time going to universities and learn how to rag and do this Aragalaya etc, The rest waste their time watching a boring game called cricket, Shortage of food, fuel and high cost of living and prohibiting luxury goods are opportunities for you to start something like growing food, staring a chicken farm or starting small business.
Today the SL is controlled and govern by the IMF. It is a good thing and it is right to privatize these loss
making over manned government run establishments and sell them to anybody who can run them efficiently and profitable.
The bottom line is there is no such a thing called a free lunch, and if you don’t like the present government is to defeat them in the next election instead of wasting time and energy doing this Aragalaya. Those who are doing this Aragalaya should go to their villages work and live with the people and demonstrate what they can do and achieve and contest in the next general election.