Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today informed Parliament that the government is planning to hold the Local Government Elections before the next Sinhala/Hindu New Year.

This announcement came days after two contradictory statements from two ministers.

The government had earlier said that the Local Government Elections will be held in March 2016. However, State Minister of Finance Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena recently said that the government will not be able to hold the election in March due to complaints over delimitation of constituencies.

However, Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faizer Mustapha later said that the elections will be held as planned.

The Sinhala Hindu New Year falls in mid-April. Therefore, the elections are now likely to be held before mid-April.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament today that the government will not sign the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or a similar agreement with India and hit out strongly at the GMOA for making false claims regarding the matter

The government will only enter into an economic and technical pact, he said.

Critics of the CEPA have argued that it will open up the Sri Lankan market to Indian companies without restriction.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe pointed out that the former government of Mahinda Rajapaksa had agreed to the CEPA with India. The new government decided to sign an economic and technical pact considering the concerns raised by various professionals, he added.

The Prime Minister lashed out at the GMOA for insisting that the agreement with India will affect professional services. He pointed out that the agreement will only cover goods and technical sectors. Professional services will not be covered by the agreement, he said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament today that concessionary duty free vehicle permits to public sector officials will be given once in 10 years.

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This comes amidst trade union action launched by Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association, the GMOA and other public services.

Wickramasinghe also said that under the new proposal, a maximum of two permits will be issued per person.

The government had earlier said that the vehicle permits would be abolished. However, amidst growing criticism, the government later said that it will offer Rs one million instead of the permit to buy vehicles.

Leader of the House Lakshman Kiriella told Parliament that legal clearance was facilitated to UPFA MP Wimal Weerawansa to go abroad by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe's intervention, after he was stopped at Katunayake Bandaranayake International Airport this morning.

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Weerawansa arrived at the airport to board a flight for Rome, Italy. However, he was stopped due to an issue with his passport and questioned by the CID.

He was to visit Europe for a lecture series.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today said that the investigations on Avant-Garde floating armories are still underway.

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has acknowledged that there are “no definite figures” regarding the final estimate of casualties in the last stage of the Eelam War, which concluded in May 2009.

“No one knows. Even the Human Rights Commission couldn’t say,” Wickremesinghe told The Straits Times of Singapore on the issue during his visit to the south-east Asian country late last week.

He also hinted that the tally “could be less than 40,000,” the figure originally mentioned in a report of the UN Secretary General’s Panel of Experts in March 2011.

A report of the Secretary General’s Internal Review Panel on UN Action in Sri Lanka in November 2012 stated, citing “some government sources,” that the number was “well below some 10,000.” The document added that “Other sources have referred to credible information indicating that over 70,000 people are unaccounted for.” However, the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, constituted by the Sri Lankan government, in its report of November 2011, concluded that “it is not possible to establish a verified figure given the difficult circumstances of the situation.” Asked about his priorities, Wickremesinghe told the paper that national reconciliation was “the first priority.”

The re-establishment of democratic institutions, which “had got weakened and were malfunctioning under [former President Mahinda] Rajapaksa” was the next. On the matter of participation of foreign judges in the proposed judicial mechanism to go into allegations of human rights violations, the Prime Minister said the issue was the manner in which such judges could take part. It was “not a question of their participating; they have already participated. The question is, whether as an adviser or a judge.” he said, adding that foreign judges had earlier taken part in Sri Lanka’s two commissions of inquiry as members of advisory panels.

As for his country’s ties with India, he said his country had an agreement with India that “neither nation will do anything to harm the security interests of the other country.”

“Subject to that, we carry on with our work.” His country was for India's entry into the UN Security Council.

As for China, he said “we have no military relationship but we have a strong economic relationship.” There were some problems on infrastructure projects. “[But] that's a bilateral issue between Sri Lanka and China. It doesn't involve India,” he clarified.

On the issue of Chinese submarines docking at Colombo port last year when Rajapaksa was in power, he replied that the problem about the visit was that “India claims it was not informed. So far, from what we found out, that seems to be correct.” He also said “not only India, but the Japanese PM Shinzo Abe was in Colombo when it happened.”

Pointing out that his country put out the criteria for visits by naval ships, he said “ships including submarines from all countries can visit Sri Lanka. As far as we are concerned, if it is a friendly visit we will inform the neighbouring countries and we will spread out the [frequency of the] visits.”

(The Hindu)

Singapore will handle the revised master plan for Sri Lanka's Megapolis plan, The Straits Times said quoting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. He also said that Sri Lanka wants another master plan for Trincomalee to be prepared by Singapore.

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"Singapore's Cesma did the planning in 2004, but it was not followed up by President Rajapaksa," Wickremesinghe said, referring to the former Housing and Development Board subsidiary which later morphed into Surbana Jurong. "Now, we have got them to revise the plan. It will be available by the end of the year. We also want them to do the master plan for Trincomalee."

Megapolis is an ambitious plan to develop the country's Western Province, into a massive urban agglomeration.

Sri Lanka's Western Province accounts for nearly half of the nation's economy, with the other eight provinces accounting for the rest. Colombo's vision is to build a regional business and financial hub, complete with high-rise developments, recreational areas and shopping districts.

It also wants to develop the region around Trincomalee, a port city and headquarters of the Eastern Province that draws its attractiveness from the circular and deep natural harbour.

Indian and Japanese companies have shown keen interest in investing around the strategic port city, where both are putting up thermal power units. Colombo, it would appear, would like Singapore to do for the Western Province and Trincomalee what it is doing in India's southern state of Andhra Pradesh, where it is helping in the design and construction of a new capital. Trincomalee also has immense tourism potential, The Straits Times pointed out.

S. Chandra Das, Singapore's Non-Resident High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, said: "The Sri Lankans are in contact with Surbana Jurong to work with their relevant authority to do the planning for Western Province and Trincomalee.

"We leave it to the individual companies here to decide what role they have to take."

Mr Wickremesinghe said Colombo would also seek to open Free Trade Agreement talks with Singapore after upgrading an FTA with India into a comprehensive trade and technological partnership, as well as concluding an FTA with China.

"The sequencing of the FTAs is because we have limited staff to negotiate," he said.

(With inputs from The Straits Times)

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe met his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong yesterday (16) during his trip to the South East Asian nation. The Sri Lankan delegation also met with several key Ministers of Singapore. Economic cooperation was one of the key areas reportedly discussed.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe left the island on a two day official visit to Singapore today.

He left on board flight UL 308, which left the island at 12.05pm.

Wickremesinghe is expected to meet his Singaporean counterpart Lee Hsien Loong and other senior ministers in Singapore.

The Prime Minister expects to hold talks on economic collaboration and seeking support for Sri Lanka's development.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe will deliver a special statement in early November, outlining the government's policy, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said.

He is expected to explain the government's policy for the next five years.

Accordingly, Wickremesinghe's statement is expected before the budget is presented to the Parliament on November 20.