Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, June 06, 2002
S.Lankan PM Says Peace Talks for Interim Council, Accelerated Development
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has told the visiting World Bank donor community that the principal objective of the proposed peace talks between the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels in Thailand soon was to set up an interim administration in the north and east of the country and speed development of the area.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has told the visiting World Bank donor community that the principal objective of the proposed peace talks between the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels in Thailand soon was to set up an interim administration in the north and east of the country and speed development of the area.
He was quoted by official Daily News as saying on Wednesday night that the talks scheduled for late June or early July will also negotiate whether the Tamil rebels will be associated with the development process. The prerogative of the peace process and the accelerated reconstruction of the north and east was to ensure that all citizens were beneficiaries of development and restoration of civil life in these areas, he said.
Wickremesinghe appealed to the donor community for their fullest technical and financial support for the development of roads, transport, hospitals, government buildings and community centers.
The two-day Sri Lanka Development Forum organized by the World Bank was opened here on Wednesday. President Chandrika Kumaratunga called for donor countries to help rebuild the war-torn country while addressing the opening of the meeting.