President to Chair CHOGM meetings on sidelines of UN General Assembly

Monday, 15 September 2014 00:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will leave for the United States on 22 September on an official visit, Presidential Secretariat sources said. He will arrive in New York to attend the 69th UN General Assembly which starts on 24 September. The President will address the UN General Assembly on Thursday, 25 September. The President, as the current Commonwealth Chai

rperson-in-Office, will also chair two open-ended meetings of Commonwealth Heads of Government on the sidelines of the UN meeting. The Commonwealth will hold an open-ended meeting of the Heads of Government to discuss CHOGM reform and the post-2015 development agenda on 25 September at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The President in a recent interview with The Hindu newspaper said that he is hopeful of meeting with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the open-ended CHOGM meetings. However, there is doubt whether a meeting will take place at the CHOGM meeting since the Indian PM is expected to arrive in New York on 26 September.

MR may face Harper, Cameron in US

President Mahinda Rajapaksa may come face to face with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron at a Commonwealth meeting in New York. Commonwealth Heads of Government or their Ministerial representatives are scheduled to meet at two open-ended meetings of Commonwealth Heads of Government to be held in New York next week. Among those expected to attend the meeting are Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and British Prime Minister David Cameron. Harper had boycotted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Sri Lanka last year over human rights concerns while Cameron had attended the Colombo meeting but raised concerns over Sri Lanka’s human rights record. The Commonwealth Secretariat said that President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is the Commonwealth Chairperson-in-Office, will chair the two open-ended meetings of Commonwealth Heads of Government on Thursday, 25 September at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. One meeting will look at CHOGM reforms while the other will look at the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The Heads of Government attending the meetings will have time to express their views on the two topics and other Commonwealth related issues under the “any other business” item. Also taking place on the same day is the Thirteenth Meeting of Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers. External Affairs Minister, Professor G.L. Peiris will be attending the meeting. (Colombo Gazette)