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UNGA in the US, G20 Interfaith Forum in Italy: President, Prime Minister visits essential, says Dullas

15 Sep 2021

By Pamodi Waravita Cabinet Spokesman Dullas Alahapperuma said yesterday (14) that President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s upcoming visit to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, USA, and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s visit to Italy, are absolutely necessary despite the current situation in the country. “To my knowledge, this is the first time that the Prez and PM have left the country after the breakout of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that too with a very small delegation. During the past one and a half years, I don’t think even two Cabinet Ministers have gone abroad. At every possible instance, we use technology. Only during absolutely necessary instances do we opt for overseas travel. It is the collective responsibility of all of us to properly manage the economy whilst attending to these duties without burdening the country,” said Alahapperuma, in response to a question posed by the media at the weekly Cabinet press briefing held yesterday (14). He added that President Rajapaksa attending the UNGA would be advantageous to the country, and noted that the Premier had attended the symposium in Italy as he was invited to do so. He stressed that both the President’s and the Prime Minister’s delegations are “very small”. The Prime Minister visited Italy to address the opening session of the G20 Interfaith Forum in Bologna, Italy held from 12-14 September, accompanied by the Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, and the Prime Minister’s wife Shiranthi Rajapaksa. Certain social media accounts of the visit also showed Mahinda Rajapaksa’s son and Chief of Staff Yoshitha Rajapaksa at a dinner table with the rest of the delegation. The President is scheduled to attend the 76th UNGA session in New York on 21 September, his first overseas conference since his inauguration in 2019. The Foreign Ministry Secretary Admiral and Prof. Jayanath Colombage and the Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga are due to accompany him. The President’s Media Division (PMD) stated that First Lady Ioma Rajapaksa will attend the event on her personal expense and added that this is the smallest delegation to attend the UNGA in recent history.


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