Tag: business

Apr.06 (AFP) – Sri Lanka gave security guarantees to Tiger rebels travelling to Switzerland for talks on saving their faltering ceasefire, a Norwegian minister said here Thursday after talks with the president.Norway’s International Development Minister Erik Solheim said President Mahinda Rajapakse agreed to Tamil Tiger demands for safe passage to Switzerland amid doubts if talks […]

Apr.06 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s economy is expected to expand by 5.3 percent in 2006, but much of it hinges on peace, and cut backs on public debt, inflation and fiscal deficits, the Asian Development Bank said Thursday. The tsunami-hit island is still plagued with sharp escalation in rebuilding costs, while president Mahinda Rajapakse’s welfare […]

Apr.05 (AFP) – Norway’s new peace envoy opened talks with Tamil Tiger rebels Wednesday as the Sri Lankan government’s key electoral partner renewed calls for removing Oslo from the negotiations.Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Oslo’s newly appointed emissary, travelled to the rebel-held northern town of Kilinochchi on Wednesday for discussions with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), […]

Apr.05 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels Wednesday asked Norway’s new peace envoy to make sure Sri Lanka’s government disarms para-military groups ahead of a new round of truce negotiations in Switzerland. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they told Jon Hanssen-Bauer to ensure Colombo delivers on a pledge made in a previous round […]

Apr.05 (AFP) – Norway’s new peace envoy opened talks with Tamil Tiger rebels Wednesday as the Sri Lankan government’s key electoral partner renewed calls for removing Oslo from the negotiations.Jon Hanssen-Bauer, Oslo’s newly appointed emissary, travelled to the rebel-held northern town of Kilinochchi on Wednesday for discussions with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), […]

Apr.04 (AFP) – Hopes for peace in Sri Lanka have been strengthened by the ruling party’s landslide victory in local polls, the government’s top peace negotiator said Tuesday.Nimal Siripala de Silva said he told Norway’s new peace envoy, Jon Hanssen-Bauer, that last week’s victory had strengthened President Mahinda Rajapakse. His political allies, who resist the […]

Apr.03 (AFP) – Norway’s new peace envoy to Sri Lanka began work Monday, discussing how to shore up a fragile ceasefire ahead of meetings with Tamil rebels and the government. -Amal Jayasinghe: win98win@ Jon Hanssen-Bauer, on his first visit to the island, went straight into meetings with experts from think-tanks and development organisations after his […]

Apr.03 (AFP) – Norway’s new peace envoy to Sri Lanka began work Monday, discussing how to shore up a fragile ceasefire ahead of meetings with Tamil rebels and the government. -Amal Jayasinghe: win98win@ Jon Hanssen-Bauer, on his first visit to the island, went straight into meetings with experts from think-tanks and development organisations after his […]

April 2 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party may call snap elections after its success in local polls gave it a chance to break away from hardline allies opposed to a peace process with Tamil rebels, analysts say. President Mahinda Rajapakse could call parliamentary polls four years ahead of schedule if his two key nationalist […]

ISLAMABAD, Apr.0l (AFP) – Pakistan and Sri Lanka agreed Saturday to intensify cooperation in defence, science and technology and trade after talks between their leaders, officials said. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse, who arrived here Friday on a three-day visit, held talks with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on a wide […]

April 01 (AFP) – The crushing electoral defeat of Sri Lanka’s nationalist Buddhist monks and Marxists, who both oppose Norwegian-backed peace moves, could boost efforts to end ethnic bloodshed, media said Saturday.Official results of the Thursday poll showed that President Mahinda Rajapakse’s People’s Alliance won 225 of the 266 local councils. By contrast, the Marxist […]

Mar. 31 – Sri Lanka’s economy expanded by 5.9 percent in 2005, over 5.4 percent a year earlier, in the backdrop of high international oil prices and stiff competition for key exports like garments, the Central Bank said Friday. Economic growth during the fourth quarter of 2005 was 6.3 percent on higher inputs from agriculture, […]