The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Dr William A Shija with the Sri Lanka High Commissioner to the UK Dr Chris Nonis

With parliamentarians from the entire Commonwealth due to gather in Colombo for a week-long meeting  which will formerly open on 11th September, Secretary-General of the CPA Dr Shija had discussions with High Commissioner Chris Nonis on the upcoming conference.

The CPA, headquartered inLondon, brings together more than 170 parliaments and legislatures throughout the Commonwealth, and is a powerful organisation dedicated to strengthening good parliamentary practice and respect for the institution of Parliament.

Sri Lanka‘s Speaker of parliament Chamal Rajapaksa MP will be chairing the forthcoming CPA Conference. The cross-party UK parliamentary delegation to the 58th annual conference, will be led by Labour MP Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods.

Dr Shija, CPA Secretary-General since 2006, was appreciative of the initiatives and ongoing preparations by the Sri Lanka Government and parliamentary Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa to set the stage for a fruitful and successful meeting, the third to be held in Sri Lanka in nearly 40 years.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa will be the chief guest at the conference that will discuss a range of issues of common concern from empowering future generations through access to health, education and vocational training to the threat to democracy, peace and security from terrorism.

Dr Nonis said that Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma will also address the conference.

Dr Nonis observed that holding the CPA conference in Colombo is  indicative of the new climate of  peace and normalcy prevailing in Sri Lanka after the war against terrorism and a sign of the international confidence in Sri Lanka today.

High Commission of Sri Lanka
London

7th September 2012