The name of a special female aide, initially scheduled to attend the World Trade Organization’s annual conference in Cameroon with Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe, has been removed from the travel roster today (October 9) following questions raised in Parliament.
The controversy arose yesterday (October 8) when MP Chamara Sampath Dassanayake questioned in Parliament the purpose of taking the individual, identified as a public relations officer, to such a conference.
Reports indicate that the President’s Office intervened to remove the name of Nimodi Wickremesinghe, Minister Samarasinghe’s public relations officer, from the delegation.
Meanwhile, Minister Wasantha Samarasinghe addressed Parliament today (October 9) to clarify the necessity of taking a coordinating officer to the World Trade Policy Review discussions in Geneva, Switzerland.
The Minister stated:
- 245 questions have already been submitted regarding Sri Lanka’s trade policy, requiring answers within three days.
- Given the likelihood of follow-up questions during the response process, there is a need for a “Contact Point” to liaise with Sri Lanka from abroad.
The Minister further added that some opposition factions have acted without understanding the matter, and various things have been published on opposition-friendly social media. He stated that necessary actions would be taken regarding this in the future.
