PRIME MINISTER RANIL WICKREMESINGHE TO VISIT
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
President Bush to Welcome the Prime Minister to the
White House on November 4, 2003
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will be visiting
Washington DC from the 3rd to 5th November 2003 during which
he will meet President George W. Bush at the White House. He
is also scheduled to meet senior US administration officials,
Senators and Congressmen. A further highlight of the visit will
be a visit to the premier biotechnology institutes and companies
located in the "Biotechnology Corridor" in the State
of Maryland.
"The Prime Minister's forthcoming visit follows
the earlier visit to the White House in July 2002 to meet President
Bush, during which the two leaders discussed key bilateral issues
and the peace initiatives of Prime Minister Wickremesinghe.
That visit established the foundation for enhancing the bilateral
relationship in a mutually beneficial manner" said Ambassador
Devinda R. Subasinghe, Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United
States of America.
Current relations between the two countries are
marked by regular, high level contacts and meaningful bilateral
cooperation in the areas of trade, investment, national security
and global issues. The US has been actively engaged in supporting
the Peace Process in Sri Lanka. The US Government hosted the
Pre-Tokyo Donor Conference held in Washington DC in April 2003
and Co-chaired the Tokyo Donor Conference in June 2003. These
efforts underline the active support of the US Government in
re-establishing peace, national security and economic progress
in Sri Lanka.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe will apprise President
Bush on the current status of the Peace Process and on the economic
reform program of the Government. The discussions the Prime
Minister will have during this visit are expected to further
reinforce the support of the US Government towards the maintenance
of the ceasefire and a negotiated settlement in Sri Lanka that
would end decades of conflict. The discussions are also expected
to further enhance the deepening and diversification of trade
between the two countries, especially because the visit follows
the recently concluded Trade and Investment Framework Agreement
(TIFA) 3rd Joint Council meeting in Colombo on October 14th,
2003. The two leaders will have wide- ranging discussions that
will also include regional and international developments.
It is expected that the current visit of the Prime
Minster will deepen and widen the close ties that have been
forged between the two countries since the July 2002 visit.