New Zealand Prime Minister John Key on Wednesday assured his support to the Sri Lankan government’s reconciliation efforts with the minority Tamil community following the three-decade civil war with the LTTE.
During his talks with President Maithripala Sirisena, Key, who arrived here last night and on Wednesday began bilateral talks with President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, assured New Zealands’ support for the ongoing reconciliation efforts, officials said.
Key was accorded a Guard of Honour at the presidential secretariat this morning. He became the first New Zealand Prime Minister to make an official bilateral visit to the island nation in many decades.The New Zealand leader, who is being accompanied by a Kiwi trade delegation, had last time visited Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit in November 2013.
Sirisena, who ended the nearly decade-long regime of former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, has taken several steps to achieve reconciliation with the Tamil minority.