IDP resettlement - Lanka on right track - Indonesian envoy

Shirajiv SIRIMANE in Jaffna

Sri Lanka is on the right track to develop the country and most of the IDPs too have returned which is also a sign Indonesia's Ambassador in Sri Lanka, Djafar Husein told the Sunday Observer .

He was speaking after opening the three-day Jaffna International Trade Fair.

He said that it was encouraging to see the IDPs returning and this was a very challenging task. The Government's priority should be to resettle them in their original homes, he said.He said that one of the next priorities of the Government should be to find employment for IDPs and provide them various opportunities.

Vocational training and self-employment too should be encouraged. We have been studying this process and the government is on the right track in this regard, he said.

Commenting on trade between the two countries, he said that though the trade balance was in favour of Indonesia there are many opportunities for Sri Lankan entrepreneurs to narrow this gap. Sri Lanka's trade with Indonesia is around US $ 27 million. Last year Indonesia trade reached US $ 400 million, an increase of over US$ 400 million compared to the previous year.

Over 27 percent of this was seen in the export of tyres from Indonesia, he said. Indonesia is also one of the biggest suppliers of paper and furniture to Sri Lanka. He said he hopes to attract Indonesian investors who are also keen to do business in Sri Lanka especially in infrastructure development.