Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende was traveling to Sri Lanka on Wednesday, with the goal of re-establishing political contact through meetings with Sri Lanka’s president, prime minister and foreign minister.
The high-level visit will be the first since 2006, according to a press release from Norway’s foreign ministry, which was heavily involved in efforts to broker peace that were controversial in Sri Lanka. “The goal of the visit to Colombo is to reestablish political contact with Sri Lanka,” Brende stated, citing “positive political development” during the past year that “makes this possible.”
Brende said he also wants to discuss reconciliation efforts following Sri Lanka’s civil war and “possibilities to strengthen business cooperation between our countries.”
Brende also planned to meet with Sri Lanka’s former president and business representatives tied to the Ceylon Chamber og Commerce. The “positive political development” to which Brende referred includes the presidental and parliamentary elections last year that the Norwegian government believes “have put the country on a new political course” with a “real willingness” for reconciliation after the civil war ended in 2009.
newsinenglish.no staff
