Colombo: Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao
is arriving in Sri Lanka on Monday on a three day visit to get an
overview the resettlement of three lakh war-displaced Tamil
people in the north which is being undertaken with aid from
India.
Rao will fly to Jaffna and Vavuniya tomorrow to
witness the process of resettlement in the former LTTE held
areas.
She is expected to meet leaders from the Tamil
National Alliance, Sri Lanka Workers Congress and other
parties on Wednesday afternoon after visiting Trincomalee in
the morning on that day.
Rao is expected to meet Sri Lankan President Mahinda
Rajapaksa and foreign minister G L Peiris on Thursday before
returning home.
New Delhi had stated recently that a senior official
from the External Affairs Ministry would travel to the island
nation for a first hand assessment of the Indian aid for
relief and rehabilitation of the nearly three lakh displaced
Tamil civilians.
The visit of Rao takes places days after the visit of
a Sri Lankan delegation comprising of its Economic Development
Minister Basil Rajapaksa`s, Defence Secretary Gotabaya
Rajapaksa and Presidential Secretary Lalith Weerathunga to New
Delhi last week.
It may be recalled that India has committed to build
or renovate 50,000 houses for the Tamil speaking Displaced
persons in the North and Eastern Sri Lanka.
PTI
