Jun 21, Rio de Janeiro: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is currently in Brazil participating in the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD), Rio+20 in Rio de Janeiro met Chilean President Sebastian Pinera and Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigme Thinle yesterday.

During his meeting with his Chilean counterpart on the sidelines of the summit, President Rajapaksa has apprised the Chilean President of the government's efforts to rebuild the country following the end of three decades of war three years ago.

According to the President Media Unit, President Rajapaksa has explained that the government is embarked on a massive development programme in the post conflict Sri Lanka to improve the life standards of the Sri Lankan people and the government's development initiatives target all communities in the country.

The President has at length discussed the canned fish industry in Chile and means of utilizing that country's technical knowledge in Sri Lanka.

President Rajapaksa has invited President Pinera on a state visit to Sri Lanka to witness the current situation in Sri Lanka, added the President Media Unit.

Bhutanese Prime Minister Thinle meanwhile, has briefed President Rajapaksa on his country's programs aimed at making a happy nation. The tiny Himalayan nation of Bhutan has invented the 'Gross National Happiness' (GNH) index as a measure of good governance.

President Rajapaksa has said that he is considering to introduce a happiness index similar to Bhutan to measure development in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan President also met the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Nepali Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai Thursday on the sidelines of the conference. This is the first meeting between the Indian PM and the President since India voted against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Councils in Geneva in March to support the US-sponsored UN resolution against Sri Lanka.

(Photos by Sudath Silva)