'Strengthening the economy, our aim'

By Shanika SRIYANANDA

It was a memorable morning - a group of children, who never stepped into Colombo and never thought of ever-seeing Temple Trees, were permitted to meet the ‘father’ who saved their lives and also secured a better future free of bombs and carnage.

Last week students of Pooneryn Tamil Mixed School in Kilinochchi and their teachers who had never seen a warm welcome of the people of the South met the leader at his home.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa despite his busy schedule took time off to talk to them and tell them that they would be secure under his Government.

While discussing their problems and sharing views about their feelings about visiting Colombo a group photograph with the President was also permitted.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Among the significant meetings President Rajapaksa had this week was the meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who arrived Sri Lanka on a three-day official visit early this week.

Students of Pooneryn Tamil Mixed School in Kilinochchi and teachers met President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees Pic : Sudath Silva

He arrived here on an invitation extended by President Rajapaksa. At the discussions the two leaders agreed on the need to strengthen the excellent relations in the political, economic and cultural spheres for the benefit of the people of both countries. President Abbas appreciated the continued support shown by Sri Lanka to the Palestinian cause. He added he was happy to see Sri Lanka stabilised as a peaceful state moving towards prosperity.“This has happened under your leadership and I believe next year and the future too will be much better for Sri Lanka under your guidance,”Abbas told his counterpart.

The Palestinian President was accorded a guard of honour at a ceremony within the precincts of the Presidential Secretariat.President Rajapaksa said Sri Lanka appreciates the Palestine Foreign Relations Commission’s expression of solidarity and support during Sri Lanka’s war against terrorism.

President Rajapaksa invited the Palestine business community to explore opportunities to invest in Sri Lanka as the country is experiencing the benefits of peace.He said Sri Lanka is happy to provide assistance in the field of education to Palestine. President Rajapaksa added that Sri Lanka was funding a project to train pre - school and grade one teachers in the Palestinian Education Department and has also granted scholarships for needy students in Palestine.He expressed the availability of educational opportunities in the fields of medicine and engineering in Sri Lanka for Palestinian students. The discussions also centred on enhancing co-operation in tourism.

The leaders also discussed the long-standing friendship between the two countries and of matters relating to enhancing diplomatic ties.

Catalogue of Tourism in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Ambassador in Moscow Udayanga Weeratunga presented the publication on tourism to President Rajapaksa on April 16 at Temple trees.

The Sri Lanka Embassy in Moscow, has published the Catalogue of Tourism in Sri Lanka in the Russian language to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries including Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan.The President appreciating the endeavour said that the catalogue is an example to be initiated by other Sri Lankan foreign missions.

The 300-page guide book contains information among many others, about Sri Lankan history, modern history, people, festivals, visa procedures, currency, Sri Lankan food, culture and heritage.

Portals to cities

It opens portals to cities such as Colombo, Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, and Kandy while discussing about hill country wild life, beaches and star class hotels along with the facilities provided.The catalogue was published and launched on March 22 at the Moscow International Tour and Travel Fair.An English version of the catalogue to promote tourism in the English-speaking countries will be published soon.The effort is aimed at attracting one percent of the millions of Russian tourists heading to other destinations elsewhere in the world to Sri Lanka.According to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority 5,788 tourists from Russia visited Sri Lanka in 2011, a 67 percent over the 3,464 visited in 2010.

On Saturday morning President Rajapaksa met the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, who is leading an Indian parliamentary delegation at the President's House in Colombo.

Official visit to South Korea

Meanwhile, President Rajapaksa is to leave for South Korea on a four-day official visit next week.

He will be in Korea from April 23-27, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two Governments will be signed to enhance bilateral relations.With the view to further strengthening the existing friendship and economic cooperation between the two countries, the Government of Korea has agreed to provide technical and financial assistance for development programs of Sri Lanka.

Korean ambassador Jong Moon Choi presented a special token of appreciation to President Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees on Wednesday to mark Sri Lanka’s support and cooperation in sending skilled migrant workers to Korea.

People’s Bank

The People’s Bank is a tower of strength to the nation, including the less fortunate downtrodden masses, said President Mahinda Rajapaksa at a meeting in Tangalle that followed the opening of the new People’s Bank building.

At the opening ceremony of the People’s Bank the President said that buildings like this should be opened by the People’s Bank islandwide to house it’s own bank branches.“The People’s Bank has been serving the people of the Hambantota district since 1961”, the President said.“We must be glad that we were able to participate in a ceremony of this nature at a time when we celebrate the Sinhala and Tamil New Year” the President said.“The People’s Bank branch at Tangalle functioned in rented buildings that were congested and with less facilities.

"The staff will be able to carry out their duties to the utmost satisfaction of customers with the most modern facilities”, the President said.

“The country underwent a period where people lived in fear during the past thirty years. Now the people are living peaceful lives sans fear psychosis”, President Rajapaksa said.“The international community that cannot tolerate this peaceful situation in the country are out to create chaos”, the President said.

“The country is now going through a period of transition and is on the path to progress."Our main objective is strengthening the country’s economy”, he said.