European Council President pledges to support Sri Lanka GSP+

Oct 18, 2016 (LBO) – European Council President has pledged to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe the fullest support to regain the GSP+ concessions for Sri Lanka. The support came after Premier Wickremesinghe yesterday met Donald Tusk who has been President of the European Council since December 2014. Tusk who was previously the Prime Minister of Poland told Wickremesinghe that Sri Lanka's current political and social reforms has led to the country obtaining these concessions. During the meeting, President Tusk requested Wickremesinghe to look into the issue of migrants coming into Europe through illegal means. Wickremesinghe pledged to set up a special task force for development with the participation of European Council which will ultimately solve the illegal migrant issue. The proposed task force will also include ministries such as law and order, resettlement, justice and Department of Immigration and Emigration. Prime Minister Wickremesinghe also invited Tusk to visit Sri Lanka to observe the ongoing democratization and development process in the island nation. Accepting the invitation Tusk said he is planning to undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka next year.