Summary: June 6, 2003: Tokyo Conference on Re-construction and Development of Sri Lanka 9/10 June 2003 (Brussels)
The European Commission, together with the EU Presidency, will be one of the 4 co-chairs of the Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka to be held on 9-10 June in Tokyo. This conference of international donors is intended to raise pledges for the post-conflict development of Sri Lanka and send a strong message of political support for efforts to end 20 years of conflict. Other co-chairs are Government of Japan, Government of Norway and US Government. The conference will
consider a Needs Assessment Report prepared by World Bank, Asian Development Bank and UN Development Programme Team; Sri Lanka's economic performance and its reconstruction agenda. During the conference, the European Commission and participating EU Member States are expected to make individual pledging announcements.
The Commission will pledge €50 million for 2003-2004. €17.5 million of this was promised at the Sri Lanka Peace Process Support meeting held in Oslo on November 25 2002. Part of the €50 million is conditional on the resumption of the peace process, in particular €5.3 million intended for the North East Reconstruction Fund this year. In 2002, the Commission mobilised €17.3 million in support of the peace process.
The Sri Lankan Delegation will be led by Prime Minister Ramil Wickremesinghe.
Even at this late stage it is unclear if the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will send a delegation to the conference. Against this background, the EU will underline the link between further progress in negotiating and implementing a political settlement and additional development assistance.
For further information please see:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/sri_lanka/intro/index.htm
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