Over 5,000 experts from 187 countries expected:
Sri Lanka is ready to host CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) in 2019 with the participation of 5,000 experts from over 187 countries, Sustainable Development and Wildlife Minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera said.
Addressing the media yesterday at the Government Information Department, Minister Perera said that giving permission to hold this conference in Sri Lanka is a great victory achieved by the Ministry and it proves that Sri Lanka is among the top list of countries actively engage in wildlife conservation activities.
CITES is an international agreement between governments which aims to ensure that trade of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
The CITES talks take place every two to three years in a member country, and the previous meeting was held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Minister said that the coordinating office of CITES has already established and the organizing committee has been appointed. The inter ministerial committee to work on CITES will be appointed in the near future.
During a recent visit to China, Minister Gamini Jayawickrema Perera entered in to a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Academy of Forestry Administration of China to provide training opportunities for Sri Lankan officials and exchange experiences between the countries, to implement cooperative programmes and to exchange animals and plants.