Rajapakse to attend 62nd UN General Assembly

Colombo, Sep 22: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa left for New York early today to attend the 62nd United Nations General Assembly, commencing on September 25.

President Rajapaksa is scheduled to address the assembly on September 26 where he is expected to speak also on his peace plan to end the bloody ethnic conflict, said Presidential sources.

President Rajapaksa leads a large delegation including Ministers CB Ratnayake, TB Ekanayake, Champika Ranawaka and Anura Priyadarshana Yapa and will meet several world leaders during his stay in New York.

Meanwhile, former President Chandrika Kumaratunga will also fly to New York on September 24 to address the Bill Clinton Foundation on 'Global Poverty Alleviation' in New York on September 26, a local media report here said.

The Former President was in New Delhi last week and had held talks with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

UNI