July 01, Colombo: The European Union Head of Operations to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, Mr. Willy Vandenberghe visited EU funded projects in the Batticaloa and Mullaitivu Districts, the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka said in a release today.

The official has visited the two war-torn districts on the 24th, 25th and 26th June to mark the completion of the EU Support to Socio Economic Measures (EU-SEM) projects and to speak with the communities who have benefited from them.

During the visit, Mr. Vandenberghe has held meetings with senior Government representatives and local authorities.

He has also visited the small and medium-enterprises which have benefited from this programme, in the sectors of agriculture, fisheries, dairy and livestock, animal husbandry as well as infrastructure related interventions such as markets, seed paddy stores, food processing centers, milk collection and chilling centers etc.

"During my visit to the development projects and speaking directly with the beneficiaries, I took great pleasure in being able to witness the progress that has taken place in lagging areas where poverty indicators have previously been high. This is not something that can be taken for granted and reflects the dedication and perseverance with which all parties alike have worked to making the projects a success," Mr. Vandenberghe said upon his return from the Districts.

Through EU- SEM the European Union has invested a sum of Euro 16 million (Approx. Rs. 2.8 billion).

The EU has provided Rs. 94 billion funding from 2005 - 2015 to Sri Lanka as an act of solidarity from the European countries and continues to partner with the development of Sri Lanka.