July 8, 2016 Reading Time: 2 minutes
The 2016 NATO Summit commences in Warsaw, Poland. Image credit - scanrail / Depositphotos.
Reading Time: 2 min read
Sri Lankan and Indian trade ministers meet
The Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Malik Samarawickrama, has met with the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry, Nirmala Sitharaman, in New Delhi, to fast track negotiations on the Economic and Technology Cooperation Agreement.
Both officials requested their ministries to continue the negotiations. An Indian delegation will arrive in Sri Lanka later this month to expedite the process.
Chinese Foreign Minister visits Sri Lanka
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, Wang Yi, will arrive in Sri Lanka for a three-day visit, with the aim of strengthening strategic cooperative partnership.
Mr. Wang is expected to call on President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera. This is the first major visit by a Chinese official since the election of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government last year.
Sri Lankan foreign reserves increase post Brexit
According to a statement made in Parliament by the Minister of Finance, Ravi Karunanayake, Sri Lankan foreign reserves have increased in the two weeks following the Brexit referendum.
Mr. Karunanayake indicated that foreign reserves had increased by USD 250 million, resulting in a total of USD 6.1 billion in reserves. He further suggested that the Brexit referendum has not adversely affected Sri Lanka.
NATO Summit begins in Warsaw
The two-day North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) 2016 Summit has commenced in Poland. At the summit, NATO and the EU are scheduled to sign a joint declaration focusing on fighting hybrid and cyber security threats, defence capacity-building, and increasing maritime security.
The NATO members will also discuss the situations in Georgia, Afghanistan and Ukraine. Ahead of the summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for dialogue more with Russia. The previous NATO Summit was held in 2014.
New Prime Minister to be announced in September
The UK’s Home Secretary, Theresa May, and Energy Minister, Andrea Leadsom have been shortlisted to become the next leader of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister of the UK. This follows a vote by the MPs of the Conservative Party.
The winning candidate will be announced on 9 September, following a vote open to all 150,000 members of the Conservative Party. The winner will become the UK’s second female Prime Minister, after Margaret Thatcher.
French court jails Rwandan mayors
A Parisian court has sentenced two Rwandan mayors to life in prison for their involvement in the 1994 genocide.
The court convicted Tito Barahira and Octavien Ngenzi of committing crimes against humanity and genocide in the village of Kabarondo, where they played leading roles in the massacre of 2,000 ethnic Tutsis. The mayors are expected to appeal the decisions.
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