Reps of Attorney General and Srilankan removed during Qatari negotiation

Another delegation was sent later to sign an agreement that had been negotiated by the top political authorities. Of course bilateral deals can be made at the highest level and sometimes political leadership informs negotiations of their overall goals

Representative from the Attorney General’s Department and Srilankan Airlines were removed from a team that was negotiating a deal with Qatar, to allow more Qatar Airways flights to land in Colombo in 2003 by then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe after they objected to certain demands of the Qataris, it was told at the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (PCOI) on irregularities at Srilankan Airlines, Srilankan Catering and Mihin Lanka on Tuesday.

Senior Manager – International Relations of Srilankan Nimal Senanayake informed the Commission that the discussion was held in Doha and during the negotiations our delegation opposed to some of their demands and the delegation was recalled.

“Another delegation was sent later to sign an agreement that had been negotiated by the top political authorities. Of course bilateral deals can be made at the highest level and sometimes political leadership informs negotiations of their overall goals. However regular practice is to have a representative from AG’S department as full members while Srilankan representatives act as observers when the deal is related to aviation,” he said.