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| Friday, 21 January 2005 |
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by Manjula Fernando A high powered Italian delegation led by its Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Gianfranco Fini and Minister of Equal Opportunity Stefania Prestigiacom pledged assistance to rebuild part of the 85,000 houses completely destroyed by tsunami waves when they met President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga at the President's House yesterday. The delegation also discussed the establishment of a plant to produce housing units and also assist in the local manufacture of fishing boats. The 18 member delegation comprising officials from the Italian Ministry of Equal Opportunity and the Director General in-charge of the Asian region met the President and Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar last afternoon, before proceeding to Trincomalee. Addressing the media at the Foreign Ministry, the Italian Deputy Prime Minister said they hope to help the Sri Lankan Government to rebuild the damaged houses and assist the revival of the crippled fisheries sector. Complimenting the President and her Government's commitment to pursue a political solution to the ethnic conflict Fini said: "There are positive developments to reach a positive result." Responding to a question on the purpose of having the President of Italian Commission for Adoptions in the visiting delegation, he said exploring the possibility of adopting tsunami children by Italian families was not a main focus of their mission here. "We fully respect the Sri Lankan Government's view that these children should be allowed to remain in their hometowns whenever possible. "Adoption could be considered in an extreme situation," he said adding that adoptions by Italian or European families was not a solution to the issue of tsunami orphans. Kadirgamar said the delegation discussed some concrete proposals with regard to housing reconstruction with the President adding that this trip will lead to strengthened relations between the two nations. The Italian delegation is here as part of a tour in the tsunami affected countries to assess the ground situation and recommend post-tsunami assistance. The Italian Deputy Prime Minister will leave for Bangkok today. Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Salvatore Zotta accompanied the delegation during their visit here. |
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