The State Minister to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Norway, Jens Frølich Holte visited the newly resettled Tellippalai Divisional Secretariat area in the Jaffna District Thursday, June 21. The main aim of the visit was to look into the outcomes of the Norwegian long-term support to the sustainable livelihood activities in the resettled areas.
The State Minister opened the primary fruit and vegetable packing centre of the Palali East Cooperative, facilitated by the International Labour Organization (ILO) under the Employment Generation and Livelihoods through Reconciliation (EGLR) project.
The Palali East Cooperative supports around 100 families to re-establish their livelihood activities. With facilitation from the Project, this Cooperative has established direct contact between the buyer and the common market.
So far, Norway has contributed more than Rs. 400 million supporting over 1,400 households in the newly resettled areas in Tellippalai and Kopay in the Jaffna district to reestablish their livelihoods through projects funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and ILO. The support will continue in 2018.
“I am pleased to see that Norwegian support has contributed to improvements in these vulnerable families’ social and economic life,” said the State Minister when opening the packing centre at Palali East.
He emphasized the importance of engaging women in the Cooperatives, and highlighted the private sector as key for the sustainability of development initiatives.
The State Minister also met local fishermen and their families in Gurunagar to learn more about their daily fight against marine pollution. Together they cleaned the beach in Gurunagar to mark the importance of clean oceans.
“Environmental problems such as plastic litter are threatening life in the sea. Given the importance of the oceans for a large proportion of the world’s population, dealing with these problems should be a global priority. Norway will continue to play a leading role internationally in efforts to keep the world’s oceans healthy”, said the State Minister.