Sri Lanka satisfied with turnout for key summit

The Sri Lankan government on Monday said it was satisfied with the number of foreign delegates who have confirmed participation at the Commonwealth summit this week. Government spokesman and Media Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said that although some Commonwealth leaders had said they were unable to attend the summit, it was not a matter of concern. He confirmed that Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh had informed President Mahinda Rajapaksa over his inability to attend the summit. "We sent the invite and the invite was accepted. However he has informed the president over his inability to attend the summit. We have invited 54 heads of state. Some are not coming. Inviting is our duty, attending or not is up to them," Rambukwella said. Several events are already underway as part of the Commonwealth summit while the heads of governments will meet later this week. Apart from Singh, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is certain not to attend the summit over human rights concerns. Sri Lanka's Justice Minister Rauff Hakeem said that while it was regrettable the Indian Prime Minister was not attending the summit, Sri Lanka understood the reasons behind it. It was reported that pressure from some political parties in India resulted in the Indian Premier deciding against attending the summit. Meanwhile Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party ( UNP) raised concerns over Sri Lanka's ties with India after Singh had decided not to attend the Colombo summit. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake said that the government needs to have a serious look at its foreign policy vis-a-vis India. He said that Sri Lanka must look at strengthening its diplomatic ties with India at least after the Commonwealth summit.