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Singaporean FM for better cooperation with Sri Lanka

Singaporean Foreign Minister Prof. S. Jayakumar who was on an official visit to Sri Lanka at the invitation of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tyronne Fernando held official talks in Colombo on Thursday.

They reviewed bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Singapore and discussed ways of further expanding cooperation, particularly in tourism, trade and investment.

Minister Fernando briefed his Singaporean counterpart on the achievement of the peace process and said that there is a conducive climate in Sri Lanka to further expand the investment and tourism sectors. The possibility of exploring job opportunities for Sri Lankans in skilled and semi-skilled categories was also discussed by the two Ministers.

Referring to foreign direct investments, Foreign Minister Fernando said that Singaporean investment in Sri Lanka forms a significant portion of Sri Lanka's FDI and said that the country welcomes more Singaporean participation in investment.

The two Foreign Ministers exchanged views on the current global developments, particularly the war in Iraq and its impact on Asia.

While discussing the role of the United Nations in global affairs, Foreign Minister Fernando said that Sri Lanka was concerned of the future of the United Nations. He said that all member countries should work together to strengthen the United Nations and sought Singapore's cooperation in this regard.

Foreign Minister Jayakumar thanked Foreign Minister Fernando for the invitation and wished Sri Lanka well.

He said that the trade and tourism sectors of Singapore were keen to explore further cooperation and hope that the discussions between the respective agencies in the two countries would be fruitful.

Professor Jayakumar thanked Sri Lanka for agreeing to loan artifacts to the Asian Civilization Museum of Singapore. The artifacts were handed over at a ceremony on Friday by the Minister of Human Resource Development, Education and Cultural Affairs Karunasena Kodituwakku.

Foreign Minister Jayakumar informed Foreign Minister Fernando that, at the meeting of the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-Sessional Support Group on Confidence Building Measures held on March 26, 2003 in Laos, the members flagged their support for the ongoing peace process in Sri Lanka and welcomed the contribution of ARF members in support of post conflict rehabilitation and reconstruction.He also met with Ministers G. L. Peiris and Karu Jayasuriya, the Foreign Ministry press release states.

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