Cablegate: Sri Lanka: Arf Disaster Relief Preparedness

VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLM #0682 1980940
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 160940Z JUL 08
FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8415
INFO RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 1010
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 8001
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 6174
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 2174
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000682

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS, EAP/RSP KEVIN SHEIVES AND ISN/RA
CHARLES MAHAFFEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL EAID PHUM CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: ARF DISASTER RELIEF PREPAREDNESS
DEMARCHE DELIVERED

REF: SECSTATE 74383

1. (SBU) On July 16 PolOff delivered non-paper on improving
ARF disaster relief preparedness (ref A) to Ministry of
Foreign Affairs Director General for East Asia and Pacific
Dissanayake and urged Sri Lanka to support language in the
Chairman's Statement at the ARF ministerial on July 24.
Dissanayake replied that GSL was supportive of efforts to
improve disaster preparedness and thanked the US for its
helpful suggestions. While not committing to specifics,
Dissanayake called the non-paper a "very good proposal" but
highlighted that military cooperation may be a sensitive
subject for some ASEAN members. The Director General said he
would wait and see what other countries proposed before
agreeing to any specific language.
BLAKE

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