Canada's Deputy Minister of International Development, Mr. Christopher MacLennan, met with the Secretary, Mr. Pradeep Yasaratne, at the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government this morning.

The purpose of this visit was to obtain information regarding the progress of the programs implemented under the assistance of the Government of Canada and to find out information regarding how to work together with Sri Lanka further. Also, Mr. Christopher McLennan had expected to study further regarding the implementation of the official language policy in Sri Lanka as a multicultural country.

Accordingly, the Deputy Minister met with Mr. Pradeep Yasaratne, Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government, who is entrusted with the responsibility of implementing this policy, and obtained clarification regarding the language policy implemented in this country. During this meeting, the officials including, the Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Pradeep Yasaratne, informed the Deputy Minister about the programs expected to be implemented by the ministry in the future and made him aware of the steps taken to strengthen the harmony and relationship between the ethnic groups as a multicultural country and the prescriptions made on official languages for the public service. Stating that various challenges have arisen in the use of languages in his country as well, the Deputy Minister expressed his appreciation for the positive steps taken by Sri Lanka in this regard.

High Commissioner for Canada in Sri Lanka, Mr. Eric Walsh, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Mr. Mahesh Gammampila and Director General of the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration, Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewa were present on this occasion.