A group of Sri Lankan parliamentarians headed by Prof. Jayalath Jayawardena, MP, Minister of Rehabilitation, Resettlement and Refugees will be in Switzerland on a study trip from 13 to 18 March 2003. The delegation is made up of representatives both of the governing majority and the opposition parties. The aim of the study trip is to familiarise the Sri Lankan parliamentarians with Swiss federal structures and consensus-building mechanisms. The delegation will visit the Swiss federal parliament on March 13, where it will be received by the president of the National Council, Yves Christen. In addition, the study trip will include a visit to the Institute of Federalism of the University of Fribourg and discussions with representatives of the canton of Fribourg and of the federal administration.

During the third round of the peace talks held in December 2002, representatives of the Sri Lankan government and of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) agreed to explore a possible federal solution for the future institutional structure of Sri Lanka. Since then, both parties to the conflict have asked Switzerland for assistance in this field in the form of information exchanges based on experiences and training in Sri Lanka and in Switzerland.

Switzerland has been carrying out humanitarian aid and development co-operation programmes in Sri Lanka for many years. In the area of peace promotion, Switzerland has concentrated mainly on activities which contribute to supplementing and supporting the peace process. In 2002, the DFA provided CHF 6 million to programmes in humanitarian aid, mine clearance, peace promotion and reconstruction in Sri Lanka. For the current year, the DFA has earmarked a further CHF 7.5m for these purposes. A considerable part of the financial contribution to humanitarian aid will in the future be used for reconstruction and rehabilitation in order to facilitate the safe return of internally displaced persons.