Only six Foreign Ministers have so far confirmed their participation in a two-day Asian summit in Sri Lanka, the first international event since Tiger guerrillas were militarily defeated.
The 31 nation Asian Co-operation Dialogue meeting will be held at the BMICH on October 14 and 15. It will be declared open by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The Foreign Ministers who have confirmed that they will take part are Iran’s Manoucher Mottaki, Bahrain’s Khaled bin Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, Singapore’s George Yeo, Laos’ Thongloun Sisoulith who is also Deputy Prime Minister, Thailand’s Kasit Piromya and Myanmar’s Nyan Win.
The cost of the conference, originally estimated to be more than Rs 40 million, Government sources said yesterday, would now double to about Rs 80 million.
The Asian Co-operation Dialogue was the brainchild of one time Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinwatra. He has since been convicted of criminal offences. It was mooted at a time when Thailand was making a bid for the post of UN Secretary General. |
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