Oct 02, 2019 (LBO) – Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha who is presently leading the Sri Lanka delegation to the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly says that Sri Lanka was adopting a whole-of-Government approach in addressing the areas of concern and that it was important that programmes of assistance are tangible and can be integrated within Sri Lanka’s plans.
In this regard, the Assistant-Secretary-General of the UN and the Foreign Secretary have agreed on the need for both GoSL and the UN to work together to identify tangible actions that will serve the interest of the country.
Foreign Secretary met with Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General, Office of Counter-Terrorism (OCT) and his team and Michéle Coninsx, Assistant-Secretary-General (ASG) and Executive Director of the Counter- Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly this week.
Ambassador Kshenuka Senewiratne, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, and other senior officials were associated with the Foreign Secretary.
The Secretary thanked the UN and the international community who unreservedly condemned the Easter Sunday attacks, and for supporting the Government in numerous ways.
He particularly noted that the recent visit undertaken by the ASG and Executive Director of the CTED, Michéle Coninsx had provided an opportunity to draw on international best practices in consolidating domestic efforts in countering terrorism and violent extremism among the relevant stakeholders.
The Foreign Secretary briefed Voronkov on recent visits undertaken by several Ministers and counter-terrorism Coordinators - from the UK, EU, the US, and Australia, as well as an expert from the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF).
Following the latter visit, the areas identified for immediate attention included community policing, youth engagement for social cohesion, monitoring social media, activities targeting vulnerable community hotspots and deradicalization.