More missions in West Asia, Latin America

by P. Krishnaswamy

The government would setup foreign missions to promote bilateral trade and strengthen the economy, Acting Minister of External Affairs Neomal Perera told the Sunday Observer.

He said it is a response to a recent statement by the JVP suggesting that the government should reduce the number of foreign missions to cut down on expenditure.More foreign missions are opened to strengthen the economy through bilateral trade.

What the JVP and other political parties say is not the concern of the government, he said. Applications were invited through media advertisements and examinations were held for recruitment of foreign service personnel. Two batches comprising about 25 have already been recruited while one more batch will be recruited in June/July this year, he said.

"Our ministry recently setup a mission in Istanbul and is now looking at West Asian and South American countries to setup foreign missions, he said.