March 15, 2016 Reading Time: 2 minutes
Russia starts withdrawing troops from Syria. Image credit - id1974/depositphotos
Reading Time: 2 min read
High ranking U.S. official writes to John Kerry on Sri Lanka
Edward Royce, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States’ House of Representatives has expressed his support for increased diplomatic engagements with Sri Lanka. Mr. Royce did so in a letter addressed to the United States Secretary of State, John Kerry.
Mr. Royce also urged Secretary Kerry to press the Sri Lankan government to release political prisoners, repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act, and return land currently controlled by the Army.
Sri Lanka to strengthen bilateral ties with South Korea
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mangala Samaraweera, has underlined Sri Lanka’s commitment to strengthen bilateral ties with the Republic of Korea. The statement was made during the official visit to Seoul by the Minister last week.
During a meeting with his counterpart, Minister Samaraweera also emphasised Sri Lanka’s interest in strengthening relations with South Korea in investment and trade.
Consultations Task Force begins accepting submissions
The recently appointed Consultations Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms, began accepting online submissions, yesterday. The stated objective of this exercise is to seek opinions on devising the design of reconciliation mechanisms.
The establishment of an Office of Missing Persons, a Truth, Reconciliation, Justice and Non-Recurrence Commission and an Office of Reparations are among the mechanisms proposed by the government.
Putin orders withdrawal of Russian troops from Syria
President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, has ordered the withdrawal the majority of Russian troops from Syria.
The substantial achievement of Russia’s military objectives in Syria was cited as the reason for this decision.
The Obama administration to reverse oil drilling plans
The Obama administration is expected to withdraw its plan to permit oil and gas drilling off the southeast Atlantic coast.
The move is perceived as a consolidation of Obama’s efforts to fight climate change, during his final months in office.
Asia Cooperation Dialogue concludes
The 14th session of the Ministerial Meeting of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD), themed “ACD – The Way Forward”, was held last week in Bangkok, Thailand.
The highlight of the session was the accession of Nepal to the ACD. The Dialogue, also, successfully grouped ACD’s twenty areas of cooperation into six ‘priority pillars’.
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