Saturday, 31 August 2013 00:00
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New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully called on President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Thursday. During the meeting, McCully told President Rajapaksa that New Zealand stands ready to assist Sri Lanka further develop the country’s dairy sector.
Minister McCully said that during his previous visit to Sri Lanka, officials of both countries had discussed measures to increase liquid milk production and expand Sri Lanka’s dairy sector. He expressed New Zealand’s willingness to expedite these plans and proposed that the two countries sign a MoU in this regard when Prime Minister John Key comes to Sri Lanka to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November.
McCully also told the President that he wants to reassure Sri Lanka of “the commitment our country (New Zealand) has to high-quality standards”.
The High Commissioner of New Zealand appointed to Sri Lanka Jan Henderson, the Deputy Secretary of Americas and Asia of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Andrea Smith, and the Deputy High Commissioner of New Zealand to Sri Lanka Wendy Matthews were a part of the New Zealand delegation.
Minister of Health Maithripala Sirisena, Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris, Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Ministry of External Affairs Karunatilaka Amunugama, Secretary to the Ministry of Health Dr. Nihal Jayathilaka, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner accredited to New Zealand Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe and the Director General at the Ministry of Health Dr. Palitha Mahipala also joined the discussion.
