UN top official to visit Lanka to move recovery effort forward

[TamilNet, February 17, 2005 10:02 GMT] UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, Hafiz Pasha, begins his Asian trip in Sri Lanka on Thursday, where he will travel to tsunami-devastated coastal areas, and meet with senior government officials, a UN statement said on Thursday. "Seven weeks after the tsunami, it is now necessary to take stock of the humanitarian response and more clearly define the transitional stage into recovery and long-term reconstruction," Mr. Pasha has been quoted as saying.