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Alaina Teplitz confirmed as next US ambassador to Sri Lanka

The US senate confirmed Alaina Teplitz to be the next ambassador to Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Teplitz, the current US ambassador to Nepal, is reported to be a career diplomat and has been with the US State Department since 1991.

Earlier this year, she acknowledged that “the Tamil community is very concerned about progress made towards reconciliation, accountability, justice,” in her testimony to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Responding to questions posed by the committee on the “reconciliation prospects between the Tamil and Sinhalese communities,” Teplitz said “there remain significant differences”.

“The Tamil community is very concerned about progress made towards reconciliation, accountability, justice, specifically commitments made by the current government to the international community in that regard,” she stated.

She will take on the role of ambassador at a time when military relations between Sri Lanka and the US have continued to grow, despite continue human rights concerns with the Sri Lankan military.

Teplitz will replace current US ambassador to Sri Lank Atul Keshap, who has held the post since August 2015.

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