SRI LANKA PROMISES RESPONSE ON UNSCR 1737 AND 1747

S E C R E T COLOMBO 001182 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2017 TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA PROMISES RESPONSE ON UNSCR 1737 AND 1747 COMPLIANCE REF: A. COLOMBO 1055 ¶B. STATE 101574 Classified By: Ambassador Robert O. Blake, Jr., for reasons 1.4(b,d). ¶1. (S) Ambassador on August 24 sent a letter to Minister of Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama outlining US concerns about Sri Lanka's lack of compliance with UN Security Council Resolutions 1737 and 1747. Ambassador noted in the letter that Sri Lanka's Bank of Ceylon maintains a correspondent account with Bank Sepah, and that Sri Lanka has not yet submitted an implementation report, as required by UNSCR ¶1737. ¶2. (S) During a meeting Bogollagama requested with Ambassador on August 27, the Minister explained that, despite several previous discussions between Ministry and Embassy officials, the issue had not come to his personal attention until receipt of the Ambassador's letter. He assured Ambassador that Sri Lanka no longer engages in arms procurement from Iran. MFA Additional Secretary for UN and Multilateral Affairs Sarala Fernando, also in the meeting, noted that her office was preparing a response on the Bank Sepah relationship and would forward it to the Ambassador "very soon." Post will continue to follow up with the Ministry and will report additional information septel. BLAKE