Decisions taken by the Cabinet at its Meeting held on 29-08-2012

1. Establishment of a Centre for Dengue Research at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura –

•   On the proposal made by Mr.S.B. Dissanayake, Minister of Higher Education, Cabinet of ministers decided to establish a Centre for Dengue Research at the Department of Microbiology in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, at the University of Sri Jayawardenepura, at a cost of Rs.92,632,0401/-,
•   Cabinet approval was granted to implement the project within a period of two years.

2. Reorienting Sri Lanka's Diplomatic Presence in India –

•    The proposal made by Hon. (Prof.) G .L. Pieris, Minister of External Affairs, to expand Sri Lanka's Diplomatic and Consular Representations in India, through expansion of the existing Missions in India to suit the present day needs. was approved by the Cabinet.
•    Accordingly approval was granted for the following measures
With respect to the office of the Deputy High Commission of Sri Lanka in Chennai, to appoint two Tamil speaking officers from the public service
With respect to Consulate General in Mumbai, it will be henceforth headed by a Senior Officer from the SLOS, and to create an additional diplomatic post for a middle ranking officer from the Dept of Commerce.
Creating an additional post at the SLHC in New Delhi to exclusively deal with Sri Lanka’s bilateral ,economic, investment and trade relations with India.
To open the Consulate General in Kolkata with the staff strength of Consular General, a personal asst, a Sri Lanka Foreign Service officer, an Attaché and Public Management Asst and with with Consular jurisdiction over the States of West Bengal, Orissa, Jaka Hand, Bihar and North eastern states
To appoint Hon Consuls for Sri Lanka in Hydrebad, Lucknow and Thiruvanandapuram.

3.    Establishment of Sri Lanka Mission in Bahrain –

•    The joint proposal made by Hon. (Prof.) G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs, and Hon. Dilan Perera. Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion, Cabinet approve the establishment of a Sri Lanka Mission in Bahrain, to deal with matters on welfare of migrant workers and promotion of employment opportunities.
•    Trade and investment along with other consular and diplomatic matters, was approved by the Cabinet.

4.Amendment of the Antiquities Ordinance-

•    The proposal made by Hon, (Dr.) Jagath Balasooriya, Minister of National Heritage, to bring in amendments to the Antiquities  Ordinance No 9 of 1940 and the Antiquities Amendment Act No 24 of 1998 to suit the present day requirements of the country and to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft amending legislation accordingly. was approved by the Cabinet.

5.Construction of Forty Six (46) Bridges on National Highways with Financial Assistance from the Government of France –

•    Cabinet approval has already been granted for the construction of 46 bridges on National Highways with a loan of Euro 22 million from the Government of France. The proposal made by H.E. the President, to include sidewalks on both sides of the bridges for the benefit of the public, at a cost of Rs.79.5 million to be provided with domestic funds, was approved by the Cabinet.
•    The Cabinet decided to award the contract to the consortium of Matiere/Eiffage Construction Metalliques, France

6.Establishment of International Arbitration Centre –

•    The proposal made by Hon. Rauff Hakeem, Minister of Justice. To establish the International Arbitration Centre, as envisaged in the budget speech 2012 by H.E. the President, with the state of the art facilities, in a location in the city of Colombo to be identified in consultation with the Urban Development Authority, and to locate the centre for the time-being at the sixth floor of the World Trade Centre. Was approved by the Cabinet.

7.Construction of the Green Garden (Biodiversity Park) next to the Diyawanna Oya Reservoir –

•    The main purpose of constructing this park is create a one-stop centre for visiting and obtaining knowledge and understanding for local and foreign parties and school children.
•    With regard to conservation of biodiversity. Rare species of plants currently threatened with extinction as well as bushes and plants which can attract butterflies and birds etc. are intended to be planted in this park.
•    As proposed by the Hon. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Environment, was approved by the Cabinet.
•     It was decided that the project should be implemented by the Urban Development Authority. In association with the Environmental Authorities.

8. Agreement of Economic and Technical Co-operation between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of the People's Republic of China –

•    The Chinese Government has agreed to provide a grant of Renminbi Yuan 100 million to Sri Lanka, to further enhancing friendly relation and bilateral economic and technical co- operation between the two countries.
•    The proposal made by H.E. the President. in his capacity as the Minister of Finance and Planning, to enter into the relevant agreement, was approved by the Cabinet.

9.Suspension of recovery of loan installments from farmers in drought affected areas of the country –

•    H.E. the President informed the Cabinet of Ministers that, on representations made to him by farmer communities during his recent visit to the drought affected areas, instant action has been taken to direct the authorities concerned to suspend with immediate effect, the recovery of installments on cultivation loans and loans on pawned items obtained by farmers in the drought affected regions of the country due to the hardships experienced by them, until the harvesting of the Maha Season 2013, which facility will be in addition to the package of relief already provided to this category of fanners. His Excellency further stated that instructions in this regard has already been issued by the Secretary, Ministry of Finance and Planning to the Bank of Ceylon, Peoples' Bank, National Savings Bank, Regional Development Bank and the Rural Co-operative Development Bank

10.Special Category of service for Academia of the Universities

•    Cabinet of Ministers endorsed the views expressed in the joint Memorandum by Hon. Basil Rajapakse, Minister of Economic Development and Hon. S.B. Dissanayaka, Minister of Higher Education, that the Academia of the Universities be treated as a special category, so that those with excellent academic career can be retained in the Universities and also intelligentia serving overseas can be induced to return to the country.
•    Cabinet also decided to appoint a High Powered Committee to monitor the implementation of the proposals agreed between the University academic staff and the authorities concerned. since, the intention of the Government is to develop Sri Lanka as a knowledge hub, the proposal made in the Memorandum to set up a Presidential Commission to make recommendations on reforms that should be introduced to the entire education system and on measures that should be adopted to retain the autonomy of Universities, was also endorsed. It was also agreed that there should be an effective dialogue with the University Academia and acknowledged the need for making University Academia active players of the development strategy of the government.

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