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US official says Mangala?s wisdom is missed in Sri Lanka

12 Sep, 2022

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A top US official says the wisdom of late Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera is missed in Sri Lanka.

USAID Administrator Samantha Power tweeted saying she was overwhelmed in Sri Lanka by the omnipresent spirit of the late Mangala Samaraweera.

Power, who left Sri Lanka today after a brief visit, said that Samaraweera was a ?conviction politician? full of brilliance, creativity and wit and constantly put country first,

“Mangala was one of a kind,” she said.

Power said that in her meetings with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, civil society, the private sector and USAID staff in Sri Lanka, Mangala?s ideas and impacts were invoked and debated so much that she found myself expecting him to come “barreling” around the corner.

Samantha Power said that Sri Lankans are enduring profound challenges right now and Mangala?s wisdom, his connection to young people and his pragmatic idealism are sorely missed.

“But I hope even as we continue to grieve his absence, we can all continue to take inspiration from his memory. I know I will,” she added.

Samantha Power met Samaraweera in Colombo during her previous visit in 2015.

Samaraweera died in August last year from Covid. (Colombo Gazette)

I?ve been overwhelmed in Sri Lanka by the omnipresent spirit of the late Mangala Samaraweera, a dear friend. A ?conviction politician? full of brilliance, creativity & wit, who constantly put country first, Mangala was one of a kind. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/QEinrZKh2d

— Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) September 12, 2022

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