THE Second Meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation between Sri Lanka and Myanmar was held in Colombo on August 4 presided by Foreign Ministers Rohitha Bogollagama and U Nyan Win.
The Joint Commission between Sri Lanka and the Union of Myanmar was established pursuant to the signing of the Agreement on the Establishment of a Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation which was signed on February 1, 1996. The first Meeting of the Joint Commission was held in July 2007 in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar. Both delegations acknowledged that the recently concluded visit by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to Myanmar had paved the way to take the bilateral relationship to a new dimension.
The Myanmar side acknowledged with thanks the stand taken by the Government of Sri Lanka on Myanmar during the ASEAN Regional Cooperation Meeting (ARF) in Phuket, Thailand and recalled with satisfaction the substantive bilateral discussions held on the sidelines of the ARF.
The Sri Lanka side informed the Myanmar side that despite the military defeat of LTTE in Sri Lanka, the activities of the LTTE network overseas, including its front organizations and pro-LTTE groups, continue to be active and emphasized the need to neutralize the LTTE's terrorist network overseas.
Both sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and expressed their views on continuing joint and separate actions to curb this menace which is a threat to regional peace and security and an obstacle to regional cooperation. The two sides agreed to cooperate both bilaterally and at regional and multilateral fora in this regard in particular at the UN, Shangri-la Dialogue, BIMSTEC and ARF.
The Myanmar side also reaffirmed its Government policy of not allowing any group or individual to use its territory for hostile acts against Sri Lanka. Both sides expressed that taking measures against such activity on its territory would be coordinated through relevant agencies.
The next Joint Commission between Sri Lanka and Myanmar will be held in 2011 in Myanmar.
(Courtesy: Daily News)
