Foreign Office Minister for Asia, Hugo Swire said:

Following the warm reception I received in Sri Lanka at the end of last month, I was delighted to welcome Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, to the UK this afternoon. The fact that we have had visits in both directions in the first month of the new government goes to show the importance we both place on reinvigorating our relationship.

We discussed again the importance of Sri Lanka making progress on reconciliation and accountability, and the new government’s desire to work closely with the international community. As I made clear when I visited Colombo and Jaffna just two weeks ago, the UK is a long-standing friend of Sri Lanka, and stands ready to help in any way it can.

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