Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is visiting India from today to take part in a global anti-tobacco conference 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 organizations like the European Union. Sri Lankan President will address the convention as a special speaker on the inaugural day tomorrow.
He is also scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee this evening. 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 percent on both sides of cigarette packets.
Sri Lankan President will address the WHO convention as a special speaker and is expected to highlight the need for tightening tobacco control measures. Sri Lankan President is a strong advocate for limiting tobacco-related diseases by reducing its consumption and has taken several measures in this regard. Mr. Sirisena will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee and discuss bilateral relations between the two neighbours.
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. It was decided to set up a joint working group and hotline between the two coast guards to better deal with the issue.