Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa will be joining in as a fifth member, of the Sri Lankan delegation heading to the United States later this month, sources told Ceylon Today.
Yapa is tipped to be joining a formerly four-member delegation comprising of External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, parliamentarians Namal Rajapaksa and Sajin de Vaas Gunawardena, and Secretary to President Lalith Weerathunge.
When contacted by Ceylon Today, Yapa said that there has been no confirmation of his travel plans, or whether he is included in the delegation, which is visiting the US following a January invitation by Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
The invitation was given to Sri Lanka in the wake of the US announcing that it would float a resolution calling for accountability and reconciliation in Sri Lanka, which was subsequently adopted at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
The US later asked the Sri Lankan government to translate and distribute the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission’s report and the action plan of implementation in Sinhala and Tamil, prior to the action plan being presented in Washington.
The Sri Lankan delegation is expected to meet with US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Susan E. Rice and Head of the Office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights Samantha Power.
The delegation will also meet with US Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Maria Otero who visited Sri Lanka in February during their visit to Washington, sources said.
CT
