Press Releases
Senior U.S. State Department Official Visits Sri Lanka and Maldives June 30 – July 3
Colombo, July 3, 2008: Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Evan Feigenbaum visited Sri Lanka June 30 and July 1 as part of the U.S. Government’s regular, ongoing consultations with the Sri Lankan Government. During his visit, Feigenbaum met with senior Government of Sri Lanka officials, including Acting Foreign Minister Hussein Bhaila, Minister of Disaster Management and Human Rights Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Foreign Employment and Defense Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella, Secretary of Defense Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, and Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona. He also met with representatives of Sri Lanka’s leading political parties.
On July 1, Feigenbaum participated, along with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, in a ceremony to open the new bridge across Arugam Bay. The $10 million bridge is the flagship project of the U.S. Government’s $134 million tsunami reconstruction assistance program in Sri Lanka and will provide an important boost to economic development in the Eastern Province.
“The United States and Sri Lanka have long been partners,” Feigenbaum said, thus his meetings helped to further the ongoing dialogue between the two countries. “We continue to have strong concerns about human rights and pressures on the media,” Feigenbaum said. He noted, however, the formation of a ministerial committee to address concerns raised by journalists over their safety and independence. He commended the Government for its role in the release by the TMVP of nearly forty former child soldiers and stressed the importance of releasing all remaining underage combatants. Feigenbaum said the United States will continue to assist in Sri Lanka’s development, including in the East.
Dr. Feigenbaum also visited Malé, Maldives, on July 2, where he met with President Gayoom and senior members of his government, as well as representatives of other political parties.
Dr. Feigenbaum has principal responsibility in the Department of State’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives. He was previously the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Central Asia and served for five years as a member of the Secretary of State’s policy planning staff, where he had principal responsibility for East Asia and the Pacific.