Proud to be a Sri Lankan

LTTE terrorism held sway in Sri Lanka for almost three decades, inflicting untold misery on people of all communities and faiths. Massive bomb explosions in public places were the order of the day and people lived in abject fear.

The Tigers not only destroyed places of national importance and cities but also crippled the economy. Apart from the bomb explosions which killed and maimed tens of thousands of civilians and disrupted day-to-day life, the Tigers also attacked key economic institutions such as the Kolonnawa oil installations, Colombo Port, Galle Port, Katunayake International Airport (BIA), Kelanitissa Thermal Power station and the Central Bank headquarters in Fort.

In launching the terror attacks on strategically important economic locations, the LTTE was all out to shatter the economy and succeeded to a great extent as Sri Lanka's economy was in a near state of collapse when President Mahinda Rajapaksa first took office on November 18, 2005.

The President's prime target was to liberate the country from the clutches of LTTE terror and his unmatched political leadership inspired the Security Forces to militarily crush the LTTE, the world's most ruthless terrorist outfit at one time.

President Rajapaksa told the nation after the Security Forces crushed the LTTE at the Nandikadal lagoon on May 18, 2009, that he vowed to win the "economic war" as well. His sole aim was to take the economy to greater heights to make Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia.

He boosted the economy and launched several development programs simultaneously while the Security Forces were engaged in massive operations in the East. After the Security Forces liberated the Eastern Province, he launched massive infrastructure development and resettlement projects in the East while the Security Forces were moved to the North for the final battle against terrorism. This helped Sri Lanka to bounce back much earlier than it had anticipated.

No other country, after such a bitter battlefield experience, had bounced back as soon as Sri Lanka. When Sri Lanka celebrated its fifth anniversary of eradicating LTTE terror a few months ago, the country had made steady progress in its forward march to become the Wonder of Asia.

The official Gross Reserves of the Central Bank crossed the USD nine billion mark on August 8, for the first time in history. Sri Lanka's gross official reserves by end May 2014 amounted to USD 8.8 billion, equivalent to 5.9 months of imports, while total foreign assets which include foreign assets of the banking sector amounted to USD 10.2 billion. Sri Lanka aims to increase its gross reserves to US$ 10 billion by end 2014.

The official Gross Reserves reaching USD nine billion is a sign of Sri Lanka's economic stability.

The Sri Lankan Rupee will not be under downward pressure in the near future due to a policy aimed at building foreign reserves and a gradual appreciation in the currency is expected. This was the first time that Sri Lanka had reached this target, thanks to the Government's sound economic policies.

The increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows, foreign exchange earnings and exchange inflows in the Corporate and Government sector had paved the way for the Gross Official Reserves of the Central Bank to reach this unprecedented level. The country's economic growth has been one of the fastest among Asia's developing economies in recent years.

Moreover, the short-term outlook seems broadly positive as Sri Lanka is well positioned to benefit from the global economic recovery and particularly stronger growth compared to advanced economies. The country's economy rebounded strongly in 2013 with an annual real GDP growth of 7.3 percent while inflation remained at a single digit for the fifth consecutive year.

The financial sector remained resilient, facilitating the investment and financial needs to support the growth momentum of the economy.

The Central Bank has bought more than USD one billion this year to prevent a sharp gain in the currency amid strong inflows from remittances, project-related loans, and investment in government securities in the absence of strong growth in imports and private sector credit growth.

The International Monetary Fund on July 30 called upon the Central Bank to limit its intervention in the foreign exchange market saying it may create a perception that the rupee was implicitly fixed and it could lead market participants and firms to hold un-hedged foreign exchange risk on their balance sheets.

The Sri Lankan Rupee gained 0.5 percent this year. It closed at 131.60 to the dollar on Friday and Central Bank sources said that it would have gained 125 had it not absorbed the US currency. Although the Central Bank had allowed flexibility in the foreign exchange market, it has always intervened to ease volatility.

The Central Bank's heavy dollar buying in the currency market has pushed Government debt down sharply due to higher liquidity in the absence of strong importer demand for the US currency. Dollar buying had boosted the foreign currency reserves to a record USD nine billion - sufficient for six months of imports.

None of these goals could have been achieved if Sri Lanka had not crushed LTTE terror. All earlier Executive Presidents tried to crush the LTTE but were unsuccessful due to international pressure and poor military strategies.

President Rajapaksa's perspicacity helped Sri Lanka to beat all overwhelming odds and vanquish the LTTE leadership - the dream of 21 million people who had suffered in silence. The President had an able military leader in Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose first-hand battlefield experience paid rich dividends to formulate successful strategies.

The two of them changed the nation's destiny - from a country plagued by terrorism and an economy in the doldrums to a peaceful country with a booming economy. This was something which none had dreamt of even in their wildest dreams. More importantly, no other country had crushed terrorism, let alone strengthen its economy.

Sri Lanka has no doubt set new world standards not only in global human rescue missions and resettlement of displaced persons but also by bouncing back in next to no time with massive development projects and an economic boom.

These gigantic achievements had been made possible due to President Rajapaksa's far-sightedness.

Today, even those domiciled abroad and had sought citizenship in their adopted countries are yearning to get dual citizenship saying that they are 'Proud to be Sri Lankans'. The nation is beholden to the President who marked Sri Lanka's position prominently on the world map.