Lanka's relations with both India, China strong - Prof. G.L. Peiris
External Affairs Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris said Sri Lanka enjoys a
strong relationship with both India and China, as well as others
countries, but none can use its soil to harm a friend.
He said,"Sri Lanka has "emphatically and consistently" insisted that
"on no occasion" would Sri Lankan soil be allowed to be used in a manner
intended to harm any other friend of Sri Lanka."
Addressing the Australian Institute of International Affairs in
Sydney on 'Between two Giants: Sri Lanka in the Asian Century' Minister
Peiris described the relationship with India as "rich and full", in
which the "destinies of India and Sri Lanka are inextricably
intertwined". He said the mutual understanding between the two nations
is under a "natural restraining mechanism", preventing any problems from
exacerbating.
"With the tourism industry growing rapidly in Sri Lanka, it may be
surprising that the biggest number of tourists to the nation is from
neighbouring India." The Minister said India is Sri Lanka's largest
trading partner, stemming from the Free Trade Agreement established in
1998 between the two nations. He acknowledged that there are natural
fears of the marked disparities in size when engaging with any giant.
Prof. Peiris rebuked any assertion that China has any predetermined
motives behind its engagement with Sri Lanka. He said the fact of the
matter is that "in the cold light of reason" Sri Lankan relationships
with China have "stood the test of time".
Evidencing this long-standing relationship referring to China's
gifting of a number of buildings in Colombo as a "no strings attached
expression of the warmth of the feelings toward Sri Lanka", Prof. Peiris
emphasised that there is "no question of ownership, or equity, or
control" of any new infrastructure, including ports, within Sri Lanka
which has been funded by China.
The Minister said Sri Lanka has "not been challenged as much as we
might have been" by the global financial crisis due to smart economic
choices. Economic growth in Sri Lanka's attributed greatly to the
development of successful physical exports in high quality apparels for
niche markets, such as Victoria's Secret rather than attempts to compete
with other apparel exporting countries on a mass scale.
After "vanquishing the forces of terror", Sri Lanka has "found a way
out of the woods" and has expressed the desire to continue such
developments both within Sri Lanka and in its relationships with other
nations including the two giants, he said. |