Minister of External Affairs Professor G. L. Peiris has called for deeper ties between Sri Lanka and the United States. "We are in ‘unreserved agreement’ with last year’s Senate Foreign Relations Committee report calling for a ‘multi-faceted relationship’ that embraces trade, security and economic ties, not just human rights," he says.

Speaking on human rights, he emphasises the importance of Sri Lanka’s efforts at reconciliation. "We understand that military victory was not the end but the beginning," Prof. Peiris said on the second day of his 4-day visit to the...