British Defence Secretary Liam Fox is to visit Sri Lanka later this week, a spokesperson at the British High Commission in Colombo said.Fox is scheduled to deliver the Lakshman Kadirgamar lecture over the weekend and on the sidelines of the lecture may meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa and External Affairs Minister G.L Peiris.
His visit comes amidst concerns raised by the British government over allegations of human rights abuses being committed in Sri Lanka during the final stages of the conflict.
Fox was initially scheduled to visit Sri Lanka last December but was later forced to abandon his plans following a reported row with Foreign Secretary William Hague, who feared that he would upset Britain's carefully balanced approach to Colombo.
However the UK Ministry of Defence blamed the postponement of his visit on the need for him to extend a visit to the Gulf. A spokesman for the defence secretary told the British media last year "Dr Fox has postponed his private visit to Sri Lanka due to an extension to his scheduled official visit to the Gulf. He intends to carry out an official visit to Sri Lanka next year, during which he proposes to fulfil the speaking engagement that he had planned."
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