Commonwealth Secretary-General, Sri Lankan President discuss CHOGM objectives

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa met here on Monday and discussed reforms and objectives agreed upon at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 that took place in Colombo last November.

The meeting according to the Colombo Page web site, took place at President Rajapaksa's official residence-Temple Trees.

Secretary-General Sharma, who is on an official visit to Sri Lanka from October 25 to 29, described his visit as a routine "health check" of work resulting from a CHOGM and told President Rajapaksa that the check "is successful."

Sharma updated the President on CHOGM reforms that are being considered, including matters pertaining to the duration of the biennial meeting and the level of participation, among others.

Regarding initiatives taking place in Sri Lanka, Sharma informed the President that the collaborations between the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka have been very productive.

He stated that the Secretariat stands ready to continue assisting in the implementation of the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) as required.

Sharma also noted that the work of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) has been very successful thus far. Commonwealth heads endorsed establishing a CYC during CHOGM 2011 in Perth, Australia. Fulfilling that decision, the first general assembly took place in Hambantota during CHOGM 2013.

Subsequently, following an offer by the Government of Sri Lanka, the International Secretariat of the CYC was established in Hambantota and officially declared open in August 2014.

"Hambantota will always be remembered as a watershed in our youth-related work," Sharma told the President.

Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris was also present at the meeting.