The 10th Inter Country Working Group Meeting for SACOSAN (South Asian Conference on Sanitation) will be held from September 11 and 12 at the Ozo Hotel, Colombo, Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage Minister Rauff Hakeem said.
He was addressing a press conference at the Government Information Department Auditorium in Colombo yesterday.
The Minister said representatives from the SAARC region, UNICEF and the World Bank, who fund and support to develop sanitation facilities, will participate in the event.
Minister Hakeem said Sri Lanka has achieved a greater progress in providing sanitation facilities when compared it with countries in the South Asian region.
"Sri Lanka stands well ahead of other countries in the region. Open defecation which stands at 1.4 percent will be totally eliminated by 2020," he said.
The Ministry works with the Health and Education Ministries to introduce sanitation facilities at schools. Countrywide, 350 water supply projects are in progress assisted by foreign countries. Cabinet approval was granted to establish a SACOSAN Permanent Secretariat at a new building in Kandy, he said.