Deputy Minister of Defence Chairs Fifth HL-FRAC Meeting
December 24, 2025The fifth meeting of the High-Level Committee for Foreign Relief Aid (Supplies) Coordination (HL-FRAC) was held at the Deputy Minister's office yesterday (23 December),chaired by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Major General Aruna Jayasekara (Retd).
The meeting focused on strengthening the management, coordination, and effective distribution of foreign humanitarian assistance received by Sri Lanka.
During the meeting, the Additional Secretary and officials of the National Disaster Relief Services Centre (NDRSC) presented detailed deliberations on key operational matters including the assignment of responsibility of foreign aid warehouse management, as well as the formal handover and utilization of the Information Technology based inventory system developed for the accurate receipt and tracking of relief consignments.
The Deputy Minister of Defence delved into the operational and administrative issues related to the effort, issuing directives for their immediate resolution to the relevant officials.
The Committee also discussed the conduct of needs assessments through District Secretaries to facilitate the systematic distribution of relief assistance to Divisional Secretariat divisions. Special attention was given to the allocation of medical and first aid supplies to the Veyangoda warehouse, while other relief items were earmarked for distribution to designated storage locations. The deployment of adequate warehouse personnel and the provision of essential facilities for staff were also reviewed.
In addition, the Committee examined mechanisms to ensure continuous progress reporting to the relevant authorities, with the objective of enhancing transparency, efficiency, and the timely delivery of foreign relief assistance to affected communities across the country.
The session was attended by committee members, senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), and relevant government authorities.
