UN commends Sri Lanka’s green agriculture program

The UN Assistant Secretary-General Kanni Wignaraja yesterday commended Sri Lanka’s green agriculture program.

This was conveyed by Wignaraja when she called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday.

Wignaraja serves as the United Nations Development Program’s (UNDP) Assistant Administrator and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific.

According to the President’s Media office, Wignaraja said Sri Lanka was ranked 87th out of 165 countries in the 2021 Sustainable Development Report, moving seven points ahead from the previous year’s ranking. The possibility of attracting foreign investors to the green agriculture program by further developing these conditions was also discussed.

The President pointed out the steps being taken by Sri Lanka to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals while seeking solutions to the socio-economic impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The President said that a comprehensive mechanism had been set up for this purpose, including the Presidential Task Force on Economic Revival and Poverty Alleviation and the Presidential Task Force on Creating a Green Sri Lanka and Sustainable Solutions to Climate Change.

UNDP Resident Representative Robert Juhkam, Deputy Resident Representative Malin Herwig, Secretary to the President P.B. Jayasundera, and Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga were also present.