Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, Arun Hemachandra, last day met with the UN Needs Assessment Mission, comprising senior officials from UN Headquarters and UNDP Sri Lanka.

The delegation included Michele Griffin (Director, Electoral Assistance Division, DPPA, UN HQ), Dan Malinovich (Electoral Policy Specialist, UNDP HQ), Amanda Stark (Political Affairs Officer, DPPA–DPO, UN HQ), Mikyong Kim (Political/Electoral Affairs Officer, DPPA, UN HQ), Azusa Kubota (UNDP Resident Representative in Sri Lanka), and Nethmini Medawala (Peace and Development Analyst).

Discussions centered on strengthening Sri Lanka’s electoral processes — focusing on institutional development, capacity-building, and transparency in line with international best practices. The talks also explored the possibility of enabling Sri Lankan citizens overseas to exercise their voting rights.