Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is in Sri Lanka to participate in the 3rd Asian Regional Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. Kumar, who is also the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), will be the Guest of Honour at the Conference, which will be formally inaugurated this morning by the Sri Lankan Prime Minister D.M.Jayaratne in Colombo .Kumar arrived in Colombo late on Friday and was received by the Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament Chamal Rajapaksa. Chamal Rajapaksa is also the brother of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The 3rd Asian Regional Conference to be held in Colombo will bring together Parliamentarians, including speakers, from the National and Provincial Legislators of Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to discuss and exchange ideas and experiences on issues of common interest to the South Asia Region. The conference will include two days of business sessions during which the participants will take part in three Plenary Sessions on the subjects of ‘Climate Change and Natural Disasters’, ‘Poverty Alleviation’, and ‘Mother and Child’, which have been identified as top priority areas to which Parliamentarians of the region will pay special attention.