India-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Association hosts farewell lunch to Kantha

India High Commissioner Ashok K. Kantha was hosted for a farewell lunch by the India-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Association recently. Speaker of Parliament Chamal Rajapaksa, Leader of the House Nimal Siripala de Silva, Deputy Speaker Chandima Weerakkody, Chief Government Whip and Minister of Water Supply and Drainage Dinesh Gunawardena, Chief Opposition Whip John Amaratunga as well as members of various parties across the political spectrum were present on the occasion.  

Nimal Siripala de Silva recalled the key role played by the High Commissioner in maintaining a high frequency of Parliamentary exchanges between India and Sri Lanka during the last three years and his stellar contribution in promoting better understanding and friendship between the two countries. He called for continued dialogue between lawmakers of the two countries through further intensification of these Parliamentary exchanges.  In his remarks, High Commissioner Kantha thanked the parliamentary association for its continued support in promoting better understanding between the two countries. He noted that the association, which was revived within a few months of the formation of the new parliament and has been fortunate to have Prime Minister, Speaker and Leader of Opposition as Patrons and the Leader of the House as the Chairman, comprises of more than 70 MPs, representing all political parties in the Sri Lankan Parliament as members, which reflected the strong across the board support for India-Sri Lanka relations.

High Commissioner expressed confidence that the continued efforts of the Parliamentary Friendship Associations, both in Sri Lanka and India, would lead to newer and higher levels of friendship between the Parliaments and peoples of the two countries. There have been frequent exchanges of visits between parliaments of the two countries in the last three years.

Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa visited India during July and August 2011; Speaker of Lok Sabha Meira Kumar, visited Sri Lanka in February 2011 and again in September 2012 for the 58th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference; Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj led a parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka in April 2012, and a five-member parliamentary delegation visited Sri Lanka last month.

These visits have provided a forum for regular and institutionalised discussions between the two parliaments as well as for exchange of legislative experiences between lawmakers elected by the people.