Lanka Round-Up: No Extension Of Emergency After August 18: President

(MENAFN- NewsIn.Asia)

Colombo, August 16 (newsin.asia): The emergency regulations which is currently in force in the country, will not be revoked and will be extended after August 18, President Ranil Wickremesinghe announced today.

Speaking during the 35th annual conference of Organisation of Professional Associations (OPA), President Wickremesinghe said emergency will be allowed to lapse.“I will not extend emergency and will let it lapse on August 18,” the President said.

Mr. Wickremesinghe who promised a system change, said both the Economy and the Political system will be restricted. We intend to turn Parliament into a government and will have oversight committee. There will be a committee on state enterprise reforms, ways and means committee. Youth members from outside Parliament will be appointed to each Committee. We will also have a national council comprising of all parties,” he said.

Coming up with another move by the government, the President also announced that a diaspora office will be opened to get the diaspora community to involve in the development of the nation.

“We will have to change the current electoral system as well,” he said.

“This change will have to come from the present Parliament.”

Adani gets green signal for power plants in North Lanka

Adani Green Energy was issued provisional approval for two wind projects of 286MW in Mannar and 234MW in Pooneryn for an investment of over US$500 million, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said.

He said this while addressing the officials of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) and Sustainable Development Authority today to discuss the progress of renewable energy projects.

The Minister said that 21 of the 46 projects that were delayed due to CEB Act amendments will enter into Private Partnership (PP) agreements next week.

26 renewable proposals were given provisional approval to be expedited with grid clearance and transmission plans. Other proposals will be evaluated within 30 days, according to the minister.

Lanka to get access to UK market for over 80% products under a new trading scheme

Sri Lanka is included in the UK's new Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) which replaces the UK's Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP), accessing to the UK market for over 80% of Sri Lankan export products.

“The UK's new Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) is one of the most generous sets of trading preferences of any country in the world and will benefit Sri Lanka by boosting the economy and supporting jobs,” British High Commissioner Sarah Hulton said.

She said that the DCTS will remove tariffs an over 150 additional products and also it will also simplify some seasonal tariffs, meaning additional and simpler access for Sri Lanka's exports to the UK.

“The new scheme, which replaces UK GSP, will come into force in 2023 and the UK looks forward to future trading opportunities with Sri Lanka,” she said.

According to the UK's Department for International Trade the new Trading Scheme applies to 65 countries, offering lower tariffs and simpler rules of origin requirements for exporting to the UK.

Lanka to be vigilant about delisted Tamil entities

While claiming that 316 individuals and 06 organizations have been delisted since they are no longer continue to fund terrorist activities, the government today said that relevant authorities remain to be vigilant on the activities of the delisted individuals and organizations.

“Relevant authorities remain to be vigilant on the activities of the delisted individuals and organizations and will ban them again, if raising of funds for financing terrorism is resumed,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

The ministry statement ;

According to the blacklisting and delisting of persons, 577 individuals and 18 organizations were blacklisted in the year 2021 for financing terrorism under the United Nations Regulation No. 01 of 2012.

After a series of discussions and careful study conducted at the Ministry of Defence by a committee consisting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Attorney General's Department, key Intelligence Agencies, Law Enforcing Agencies and Financial Intelligence Unit of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and based on reports and evidences with regard to the financing terrorism by individuals and organizations, recommendations were submitted for the listing and delisting.

Accordingly, among the aforesaid 577 individuals and 18 organizations, a decision was made to delist 316 individuals and 06 organizations since they are no longer continue to fund terrorist activities.

Furthermore, it has been decided to blacklist 55 individuals and 03 organizations those recently recognized as active in financing terrorism during the period.

Thus, forwarding the recommendation of the Ministry of Defence to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 29, 2022 for their consent, 316 individuals and 15 organizations were blacklisted on August 1, 2022 by Extraordinary Gazette No. 2291/02.

Such inclusions and exclusions for blacklisted individuals and organizations are routinely carried out by relevant authorities after observation and careful study over a continuous period of time.

Relevant authorities remain to be vigilant on the activities of the delisted individuals and organizations and will ban them again, if raising of funds for financing terrorism is resumed, the Ministry of Defence further said.

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