Oct 19, Colombo: United States Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asian Affairs Richard Boucher has returned to Sri Lanka for a two-day visit.

Mr. Boucher today met Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees in Colombo. Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, President's Secretary Lalith Weeratunga, Director General of the Government's Peace Secretariat Dr. Palitha Kohona, and Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa were also present.

The visiting US Assistant Secretary of State will also meet civil society leaders and members of non-governmental organizations.

"Following meetings in Colombo, Ambassador Boucher will travel to Trincomalee to meet with local government officials and civic leaders. This will be Ambassador Boucher's second visit to Sri Lanka in his capacity as Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, after his first in June 2006," the US Embassy had said.

Prior to that, Ambassador Boucher had visited Sri Lanka in January 2005 with then-Secretary of State Colin Powell while serving as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. The two leaders had traveled to Sri Lanka in the wake of the devastating December 2004 tsunami.

Mr. Boucher's arrival follows that of Japanese peace envoy Yasushi Akashi on Sunday and Norwegian peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer on Tuesday. This week has also brought deadly violence to Sri Lanka with a suicide attack on a naval convoy on Monday that killed around 100 people and a suicide attack on the Dakshina Naval Base in Galle yesterday that killed at least another 15.

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