Premier returns after US visit

[TamilNet, Sunday, 22 September 2002, 18:00 GMT]
Sri Lanka's Prime Minister, Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe, returned to Colombo Sunday after a ten-day high profile visit to United States of America. The Prime Minister undertook the tour while the historic peace talks between his government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam commenced in Sattahip, a port town in Thailand last week.

The Prime Minister addressed the 57th general assembly of the United Nations, held talks with the UN Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan, Indian Prime Minister Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee and several other world leaders and addressed a high profile investment forum to attract foreign aid to Sri Lanka, while in the US.

Meanwhile the Presidential Secretariat Sunday said the President, Mrs Chandrika Kumaratunga has not received an official report about the outcome of the first phase of talks held between the delegations of the United National Front (UNF) government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Thailand. "However the President is keenly studying media reports about the talks held in Thailand between the two delegations from September 16 to 18," said Mr Janadasa Peiris, Media Advisor to the Presidential Secretariat.