News

Foreign Ministers to gather in Colombo next week

Published

2 years ago

October 6, 2023

editor

A number of Foreign Ministers are scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka next week to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) hosted by Sri Lanka.

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the IORA as well as other senior Ministers of IORA Member States and Dialogue Partners will arrive in Sri Lanka next week for the 23rd IORA Council of Ministers which Sri Lanka is hosting on October 11 in Colombo.

The Council of Ministers meeting in Colombo will see the participation of 16 Ministers including the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, India, Iran, Mauritius, Malaysia and South Africa.

Meanwhile, other ministers and senior level delegates will participate from Australia, Comoros, France, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen (member countries) and from China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Türkiye, United Kingdom and United States of America (dialogue partners).

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry will chair the Council when the current Chair, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh will hand over the chairmanship to the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka.

The Council of Ministers is the highest decision making body of IORA.

The Council will be preceded by the 25th meeting of the Committee of IORA Senior Officials (October 9-10) which will be chaired by Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane.

Today, IORA’s membership has expanded to 23 Member States and 11 Dialogue Partners. Sri Lanka will assume the chairmanship of IORA for the period 2023 to 2025 at the 23rd Council of Ministers’ Meeting.

The Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Rim Association Dr. Salman Al Farisi and the directors of the IORA Secretariat in Mauritius will also participate in the meeting.

The visiting Ministers will also make a collective call on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and hold bilateral discussions with their Sri Lankan counterpart Foreign Minister Ali Sabry as well as with other Ministers, during their stay in Sri Lanka.

News

Batalanda commission report handed over to the AG

Published

10 hours ago

April 29, 2025

editor

The “Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Establishment and Maintenance of Places of Unlawful Detention and Torture Chambers at the Batalanda Housing Scheme” which was recently tabled in Parliament, has been handed over to the Attorney General by the Presidential Secretariat following a directive from President Anura Kumara Disanayake.

The report, originally compiled over 25 years ago, was tabled in Parliament recently. The Government has taken a decision to take necessary action and as a result, actions have been initiated to hand over the report to the Attorney General’s Department today (29).

(President’s Media Division)

News

Ex-SLTB Vice Chairman granted bail

Published

10 hours ago

April 29, 2025

editor

The former Vice Chairman of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), L.A. Wimalaratne, who was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) earlier today (April 29), has been released on bail.

He was arrested in connection with an investigation into a house in Kataragama, allegedly linked to the family of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

News

Franchise agreements of Colombo Strikers & Jaffna Kings terminated

Published

10 hours ago

April 29, 2025

editor

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in collaboration with the event rights holder of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) – the IPG Group, has officially announced that the franchise partnerships of the ‘Colombo Strikers’ and ‘Jaffna Kings’ have been terminated.

According to a statement issued today (April 28), the terminations were made due to the respective franchises’ failure to fulfill contractual obligations outlined in their agreements with the IPG Group, which were established at the commencement of their participation in the league.

Accordingly, the forthcoming edition of the Lanka Premier League will feature franchises representing Colombo and Jaffna under new ownership, the statement notes.

As the event rights holder, the IPG Group retains the exclusive rights over the LPL franchise teams and, accordingly, is vested with the authority to transfer and/or assign the ownership rights of the said franchises to interested parties.

Sri Lanka Cricket and The IPG Group remain committed to upholding the integrity, standards, and success of the Lanka Premier League and look forward to an exciting upcoming season with renewed participation.