Damith Wickremasekara
COLOMBO :President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who was scheduled to undertake an official visit to France later this month, has postponed it until the end of the year due to domestic compulsions, including the fallout from the Negombo prison violence.
The French authorities have been informed, and a new date later this year has been requested, Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath said.
The invitation for President Dissanayake to visit France had been extended by French President Emmanuel Macron when the two met on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi
in February.
Among the issues that the president had planned to discuss was France’s support for the extension of the GSP Plus preferential trade facility. Sri Lanka would need to make a fresh application for GSP+ tariff benefits next year, as the current scheme will expire on December 31.
The GSP+ facility grants eligible developing countries preferential access to the EU market, but continued access depends on the effective implementation of 27 international conventions covering human rights, labour rights, environmental protection and good governance.
Minister Herath said the government plans to sign three MOUs with France relating to economic and financial ties as well as defence-sector cooperation during the President’s visit. “Before the visit, we want to finalise the contents of the MOUs,” Mr Herath said.
The president’s delegation is likely to include Foreign Affairs Minister Herath and the Deputy Finance Minister
Anil Jayantha.Sunday Times
