Lanka-Philippines aviation pact soon

The Government of Sri Lanka may soon finalise an agreement with Philippines civil aviation authorities to begin commercial flights from Sri Lanka to the Philippines on SriLankan Airlines.

This was relayed by Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Philippines Nawalage Bennet Cooray, who called on Philippines Vice President Jejomar C. Binay at the Coconut Palace in Pasay City. The Ambassador said the Sri Lankan Government is hopeful that, once in place, the flights will pave the way for stronger economic ties between the two countries. There are currently no direct flights between the two countries.

Under the new deal, the flights between Manila and Colombo will reportedly be increased to four from two a week.Sri Lankan Prime Minister D.M. Jayaratne also visited Binay early this year during the Vesak period. Binay said the two countries could share their experiences especially on the insurgency problem.

He noted that the Philippines could learn from Sri Lanka on how its Government handled "what seemed to be an impossible dream in the past," referring to the downfall of the terrorist group Tigers in 2009 after decades of strife.

Diplomatic relations were established between Sri Lanka and the Philippines in 1951. The island nation is host to 400-500 skilled and semi-skilled Filipino workers.

According to the Commission on Overseas Filipinos, there were 1,201 Filipinos in Sri Lanka as of 2009.

- Manila Bulletin