SRI LANKA: PLANS TO RATIFY THE MONTREAL CONVENTION OF 1999

UNCLAS COLOMBO 000417 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EEB/TRA/OTP BRIAN SILER STATE PLS PASS TO USICAO E.O 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EAIR ICAO CE SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: PLANS TO RATIFY THE MONTREAL CONVENTION OF 1999 REF: STATE 27782 ¶1. (U) Sri Lanka's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) intends to ratify the Montreal Convention of 1999 by the end of 2009. CAA Director General, Mr. Parakrama Dissanayake, told Econoff that the CAA's proposed national civil aviation policy addresses its intent to ratify the Convention. The CAA is drafting the country's first civil aviation policy which is being coordinated with major stakeholders in Sri Lanka's aviation industry, including the Ministry of Ports and Aviation and Sri Lankan Airlines. All are in favor of the ratification of the Convention. ¶2. (U) According to the Deputy Director of CAA's Air Transport and Legal Affairs division, Rayan Wanniappa, the draft aviation policy will be submitted to the Cabinet in late April 2009. The CAA intends to have the provisions of the convention, with the appropriate applicable domestic legislation, in place by end of ¶2009. The draft policy is available on the CAA's website, http://www.caa.lk. Dissanayake and Wanniappa reported they will continue to advise the embassy of the status of the policy and how the government plans to implement the Convention. Blake