Maithripala Sirisena to be the special speaker for anti-tobacco conference hosted by India

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will arrive in India on Sunday to take part in the global anti-tobacco conference being hosted in the national capital. During his two-day visit, President Sirisena will take part in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which is being participated by 180 countries as well as regional economic integration organisations like the European Union.

The Sri Lankan President will address the convention as a special speaker on the inaugural day on Monday. Sri Lankan President, who served as the Minister of Health during the previous government, is a strong advocate of tobacco control and successfully implemented laws to display pictorial warnings up to 80% on both sides of cigarette packets.

President Sirisena will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee and discuss bilateral relations between the two neighbours. The Sri Lankan President had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of BRICS and BIMSTEC meeting in Goa last month.

His visit comes a day after a high-level delegation led by foreign ministers of the two countries met in New Delhi to sort out the fishermen issue, where it was decided to set up a joint working group and hotline between the two coast guards to better deal with the issue.