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Saturday, 30 October 2010 14:10 |
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At the invitation of Minister of New & Renewable Energy of India Farooq Abdullah, Minister of Power & Energy Patali Champika Ranawaka visited India to participate at the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference (DIREC) from 27-29 October 2010.
Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference is the fourth of a series of global Ministerial-level Conferences on Renewable Energy, engendered by the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. The earlier Conferences were held in Washington in 2008, Beijing in 2005 and Bonn in 2004.
Speaking as a Panelist in the Ministerial Session of the Conference chaired by Minister Farooq Abdullah, Minister Ranawaka stressed the need for improving renewable energy as a form of mainstream energy. Referring to Sri Lanka’s experience, he stated that a considerable amount of Sri Lanka’s energy come from renewable sources and Sri Lanka’s emission levels are far below than world average. There is good potential for expanding wind power in Sri Lanka but issues pertaining to storage and dispatch of solar and wind energy have to be addressed. Sri Lanka is also focusing on Biomass based energy such as Dendro Power.
During his stay in New Delhi he also held bilateral meetings with Minister Farooq Abdullah and the Indian Minister of Power Susil Kumar Shinde. He briefed the Indian Ministers on challenges and opportunities in Sri Lanka. The Joint Declaration signed during H E the President’s State Visit to India in June 2010 underscored this aspect. It was noted that SAARC could take substantial initiatives to mobilize collective efforts to harness renewable energy sources in the region. The role of the public and private sectors will be indispensable in this regard. Measures to be taken to establish grid connectivity between India and Sri Lanka and the proposal to set up a coal power plant in Sampur was also discussed. Minister Ranawaka sought India’s active participation at the ‘Vidul Lanka’ Renewable Energy exhibition to be held in Colombo in August 2011.
Minister Ranawaka delivered the Keynote Address at one of the sessions of the Pan-IIT Conclave on Biomass Energy held on the sidelines of the Delhi International Renewable Energy Conference. In his address Minister Ranawaka commended India for major efforts being taken towards reinvigorating the use of biomass energy and to make it a more organized sector that can significantly contribute towards welfare and well-being of people, especially the poor.
Minister Ranawaka during his stay in India visited the Dadri Coal Power Plant and the Load Dispatch Centre near Delhi, and the Nuclear Power Plant in Kalpakkam for study purposes. High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam, Ceylon Electricity Board Chairman Vidya Amarapala and Power & Energy Ministry’s Director (Technical) Merille Goonetilleke were also associated in Minister Ranawaka’s meetings and site visits. |
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Monday, 25 October 2010 04:46 |
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The Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy, Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe arrived New Delhi on October 19, for a 8-day Official Visit on the invitation of the Chief of Indian Navy staff, Admiral Nirmal Verma. This visit marked another milestone of the close naval relationship between the two Navies as well as the defence cooperation between the two countries.
Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe’s visit is the third such among the Service Chief’s of the two countries in the year 2010 alone in which two Indian Service Chief’s visited Sri Lanka. Indian Naval Chief paid a visit in July whilst the Chief of Army Staff, General VK Singh visited in September marking the close defence relations enjoyed by two countries. Sri Lankan Navy chief called on the Indian Service Chief’s during his visit. Vice admiral Samarasinghe paid a courtesy call on Honourable Minister of Defence, Shri A K Anthony and met senior officials of the Indian Security establishment accompanied by The High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam. The High Commissioner hosted a dinner in honour of the visiting Navy Chief of Sri Lanka and Indian Navy Chief Admiral Nirmal Verma at the Residence on the first day of the visit .
He has also attended the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the National Defence College (NDC) as an alumina of the prestigious institution. He is one of the serving Chief’s produced by the NDC and the function was presided by the President of India on 21st Oct 2010. Vice Admiral Thisara Samarasinghe attended the 45th Course at NDC in year 2005 along with the present King of Bhutan when he was the crown prince.
The Navy Commander is scheduled to travel to several naval facilities. In Vishakapatnam he will visit the eastern fleet and also scheduled to visit the Garden Reach Shipyard in Kolkata to review the refit programme of the Sri Lankan Naval vessel. His visit to Southern Naval Command in Kochi has a special significance as he will be interacting with the Indian Naval training Establishment in which he was trained as a young Lieutenant in 1981.
The visit is undertaken in the backdrop of series of interactions between the two Navies aimed at enhancing naval relations and cooperation and in the context of several Indian naval vessels making goodwill missions to Sri Lankan Ports in western & eastern coastline for series of exercises. |
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Sunday, 17 October 2010 07:55 |
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External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, having travelled to Delhi to accompany President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the Closing Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games and for the bilateral discussions with the Indian Prime Minister, used the opportunity to also meet with several other senior Indian Government personalities.
On the morning of 14th October, Minister Peiris met with his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, for a very cordial and constructive review of bilateral relations. The discussion between the two Ministers served as a curtain raiser to the forthcoming session of the India – Sri Lanka Joint Commission that will take place, when Minister Krishna visits Sri Lanka later this year.
 On 15th October, Prof. Peiris called on Mr. P. Chidambaram, Minister of Home Affairs of India. The Home Minister and Prof. Peiris discussed the progress with regard to the programme of 50,000 houses to be built in the formerly conflicted affected areas, through grant funds from India. Minster Peiris briefed that the allocation of State lands for the construction of 1,000 houses in a cluster format for the use of widows or single headed families, was well underway. The rest of the programme would relate both to the construction of 32,000 houses on an owner driven basis on private land, as well as to the repair of 17,000 damaged houses.
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Wednesday, 13 October 2010 10:43 |
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President Mahinda Rajapaksa has been invited to attend the Closing Ceremony, as an Honored Guest, on 14th October, of the Commonwealth Games that are at present underway in New Delhi. While he is in New Delhi, President Rajapaksa will also have bilateral discussions with the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Minister of External Affairs, Prof. G. L. Peiris will accompany President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the visit to New Delhi.
Minister Peiris will use his presence in New Delhi to hold discussions with several senior members of the Indian Cabinet including the External Affairs Minister, Shri. S. M. Krishna, Minister of Home Affairs, Shri P. Chidambaram, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri. Vayalar Ravi, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri. Anand Sharma and the Minister of Human Resource Development, Shri. Kapil Sibal. Prof. Peiris is also due to deliver the Foundation Day Address of the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in New Delhi, on 15th October 2010. |
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Thursday, 07 October 2010 08:53 |
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Minister of Sports C B Ratnayake who is currently in India to attend the Commonwealth Games met Minster of Youth Affairs and Sports of India Dr M S Gill recently. High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam and officials of the Ministry of Sports also attended the meeting.
Minister Gill at the outset said he was happy to see a good contingent from Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Games and extended his best wishes for its success. In order to enhance contacts among the youth of the two nations, he expressed the interest to have a youth exchange programme with Sri Lanka. India already has such programmes with a number of other countries. He informed that the Sports Authority of India is a very strong organization with which Sri Lanka could closely collaborate. Minister Gill indicated that Sri Lankans could also benefit from the Sports University of India which offers both undergraduate and post graduate degrees in Sports.
Minister Ratnayake congratulated India for the successful Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games and said that Sri Lanka is proud of India’s success. The Ministry of Sports of Sri Lanka looks forward to have a greater cooperation with India. He requested India’s assistance in several fields. It was agreed that a team of officials from both countries would visit each other soon to identify areas of collaboration. |
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