US-Lanka Partnership dialogue kicks off in February 2016

• Discussions led by US Under Secretary of State Thomas Shannon to be held in Washington DC
• Major reset in US-Lanka ties, especially with regard to security cooperation
• Shannon says armed forces can play “constructive” role in Lanka’s future
• Discussions on economic, security and international and regional cooperation says Mangala

By Dharisha Bastians

Dates have been set for the first US-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue, a round of discussions in Washington DC that will seek to enhance security and economic ties between the two countries, according to a Senior Official of the US State Department visiting Colombo yesterday.

The move is seen as part of ongoing efforts to ‘reset’ relations between Colombo and Washington after the new Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Administration took office nearly a year ago.

US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Designate, Thomas Shannon told reporters after he walked out of a meeting with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, that the US welcomed Sri Lanka’s contributions to global peacekeeping and humanitarian disaster assistance and believed the country’s armed forces could play a constructive role in ensuring a bright future.

 “In May, Secretary Kerry and the Foreign Minister announced that our two governments would launch a Partnership Dialogue to build on that history of exchange and to intensify our cooperation across the board and to further enhance our relationship,” Shannon told reporters at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs last evening.

US Under Secretary of State (Designate) for Political Affairs Ambassador Thomas Shannon on Monday met Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera at the Ministry. Shannon, who is on a three-day visit in Sri Lanka, is scheduled to visit Eastern province on Tuesday. He would call on President and the Prime Minister on Wednesday – Pic by Pradeep Pathirana

The first meeting of the U.S.-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue will take place in February 2016 in Washington, DC, the US Under Secretary said.

Shannon said the annual meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss all aspects of the relationship and ways in which the United States may be able to engage directly with the people of Sri Lanka and the Government.

The visiting US Under Secretary of State hailed Sri Lanka’s contributions to the development of a “regional consciousness - one that promotes the values of democratic governance and respect for human rights, freedom of navigation, sustainable development, and environmental stewardship.

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that as the senior most official at the Department of State, Under Secretary Shannon will guide the US-Sri Lanka Partnership dialogue.

Minister Samaraweera said the key areas on which the dialogue will be based include governance, development cooperation, people-to-people ties, economic cooperation, security cooperation and international regional affairs.

 “These four areas were decided upon after discussion with both President and Prime Minister during the last few months, in the context of ways and means of developing the US-Sri Lanka relationship in line with the reform agenda of the Government and the requirements of the people of our country,” Samaraweera explained.

Re-engagement on security issues is a major step forward in Colombo’s relationship with Washington, after war crimes allegations against Sri Lankan armed forces and strained ties with the Rajapaksa administration drastically altered the security partnership between the countries.

US Ambassador to the UN, Samantha Power, on a visit to Colombo last month, told Daily FT that the last administration in Sri Lanka had “necessitated the suspension of different programs.”

Power said the US would like to see a relationship with the Sri Lankan military that is “strong and reinforces shared regional security interests.”

 “But we have made very clear that that kind of progress is dependent on progress on accountability, on demilitarisation and with time also on security sector reform,” Ambassador Power asserted.

Ambassador Shannon arrived yesterday for a two day visit in Sri Lanka.

In Sri Lanka, Ambassador Shannon will meet with senior government and parliamentary leaders, business leaders, and civil society, as well as tour a USAID-funded livelihoods project in the Eastern Province, the US Embassy said.