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Ranil leaves for China to attend OBOR summit

13 May, 2017

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe left for China today to attend the ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) summit.

Wickremesinghe is being accompanied by his wife Professor Maithree Wickremesinghe.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed Friday that representatives from the European Union, France, Germany, Britain, Japan, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United States?are among those who will attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.

According to spokesperson Geng Shuang, the Washington delegation will be led by Matt Pottinger, special assistant to the president and senior director for Asia at the National Security Council.

Park Byeong-suk, former deputy speaker of National Assembly of the ROK, will also attend, along with Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, Geng said.

As a special envoy of British Prime Minister Theresa May, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, will attend the forum; and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will send Minister of Economic Affairs Brigitte Zypries. Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin will lead the French delegation, Geng said.

European Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen will also attend, Geng said. (Colombo Gazette)

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