Canada to assist transition in North from recovery to development

Canada is to assist the transition in the North from recovery to development.

Canadian High Commissioner, Shelley Whiting, and UNDP Sri Lanka Resident Representative Peter Batchelor will visit Canadian-funded Community Projects in the North, and open several dairy and agriculture based Cooperative Projects in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu this week, the UNDP office in Colombo said.

The Canadian Government under a financial envelope of 6 Million Canadian Dollars has partnered with two UN agencies, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to strengthen agro economic development in the North of Sri Lanka, with a specific focus on the districts of Jaffna, Killinochchi and Mullaitivu.

During the two day visit, the High Commissioner is scheduled to visit four Canadian-funded dairy and agriculture based Cooperatives and their members supported by UNDP and FAO under the ?Agro-Economic Development Project?.

These Cooperatives have received much needed technological and managerial/business support to recover after the decades of conflict and sustain their livelihoods whilst contributing towards the development of the growing Northern economy.

Through the Agro-Economic Development Project? it is expected to benefit over 11,000 households across Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. The Mission will meet with Cooperative members and Government officials and hand over the completed infrastructure to the communities during their visit.

The Canadian Government continues to have a strong and longstanding partnership with the United Nations and is the third largest donor of UNDP Sri Lanka. (Colombo Gazette)