Strong leadership vital for development - Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda

By Dhaneshi Yatawara

Global corporate giants are keen to invest in Sri Lanka which is an attractive investment hub, said Sri Lankan Ambassador to Japan and former Navy Commander Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda.

In an interview with the Sunday Observer Admiral Karannagoda added that the thrust to economic development became a reality with the emergence of peace in Sri Lanka.

Excerpts of the interview.

Q : Japan is an economic giant. How do you rate present bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Japan.

A: Japan Sri Lanka relations have been strengthened during the past three years – particularly after the visit of President Mahinda Rajapaksa in March 2013. In 2012 Deputy Prime Minister of Japan Katsuya Okada visited Sri Lanka, a high level visit from Japan after 20 years. The Japanese Premiere invited President Rajapaksa to visit Japan.

After the meeting with the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe in March 2103 a joint statement was released announcing cooperation in many areas strengthening bilateral relations including maritime cooperation between the two countries. Further the President had a number of successful discussions with many Ministers, Members of Parliament of the Government of Japan and business leaders. One was a breakfast meeting with the Japan – Sri Lanka Parliamentary League where there were 25 members of the Japanese Parliament. I am happy to say now the number of members in the league have increased to 67. During the visit the President had successful discussion with top corporate leaders of Mitsubishi and Toshiba. Twenty seven top corporate leaders attended the meeting.

Two months after the President's visit to Japan, the new Deputy Prime Minister of Japan Taro Azo who is also the Minister of Finance visited Sri Lanka. Thereafter there were a number of high level visits from Japan including a four-day visit by a Princess from the Imperial Family of Japan.

Q :Is there any progress in the business sector after regaining peace in Sri Lanka? Does Japan consider Sri Lanka as an attractive investment hub?

A : Yes. Especially after President's visit enthusiasm to invest in Sri Lanka was more in the Japanese business sector. President Rajapaksa was able to hold successful meetings with top ranking business owners in Japan during his visit and those who attended the meeting were convinced of the conducive environment that exists in Sri Lanka. Many of those businessmen visited Sri Lanka.

Japan has heavily invested in China but as of now the operational cost has gone up and Japan is in search of alternative locations to establish their businesses. There is a dispute between the two countries over Senkuku island in the South China seas as well. Japanese business community is looking for more neutral grounds to set up their manufacturing plants.

Japan has found Sri Lanka with its geographic location as one of the best places to invest. In fact we have so many plus points. We have a literate work force, peaceful environment and the nature of our free trade agreements with India, Pakistan and with China in the near future are ideal for business ventures. These trade agreements of the country give the opportunity for a businessman to venture in to profitable markets with a significant number of end users. All these countries account for a US$ 2.5 billion market.

Q : Which sectors have reached Sri Lanka to establish their businesses?

A : One of the top Japanese business companies handling worldwide logistics has invested nearly 45 million US dollars in a Sri Lankan logistics company. A top ranked financial security firm ranked number six in the world is planning to invest over one billion US dollars in the Sri Lankan bond market. Apart from the corporate giants Small and Medium Scale Enterprises are also keen to invest in Sri Lanka.

Another Japanese fish processing company, which has commenced business in China, has started business with a Sri Lankan company in the fishing industry in Dankotuwa. The company has shifted operations of the Chinese plant. Three companies manufacturing solar power panels have already established their factories in Sri Lanka and will commence manufacturing shortly.

Around 460 million US dollars worth investments have reached Sri Lanka during the last three years.And the other sector is tourism. Number of Japanese tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in 2011 was around 14,900. And by 2013 it went up to 31, 515. And this year there is a 40 percent increase in the number of arrivals. With the December arrivals we expect to see a marked increase in the number of Japanese tourists to Sri Lanka. Japan is aware that Sri Lanka is one of the safest places to visit. Many international travel magazines have named Sri Lanka as a number one tourist location or at least in the first five countries of the world for tourism. So all these ventures bring in a lot of economic benefits.

Japan is interested in the new Colombo South Harbour. That is one of the few deep water harbours in the world. The Colombo harbour is a shipping hub which is expanding. Japan is keen to participate in all development activities in Sri Lanka.

Q: Japan and Sri Lanka has close relationships with regard to higher education opportunities. What is the current position?

A: The Japanese Education Ministry scholarship is a major contributor in this field. We get about 100 – 150 scholarships annually under this program. These scholarships include degrees, masters and PhDs. Many Government servants in the education and private sector are benefited through this program. Apart from this, certain universities in Japan have started collaborations with Sri Lankan universities for research, technology transfer and student exchange programs. This will attract more Japanese students to Sri Lanka.

Japan is assisting the Financial Academy operated by the Ministry of Finance and Planning to enhance and exchange knowledge in the field of economy and finance which supports Sri Lankans, and foreign nationals.

Q : Are there any opportunities to enhance the skills of Sri Lankan technicians in Japan?

A: Yes there are. Japan International Cooperation Agency JICA works as the umbrella organisation. The Japan Sri Lanka Technical Association (JUSTECA) works for this kind of technological transfer and enhancing skills of engineers and technicians. There are short courses organised under these programs where Sri Lankan engineers travel to Japan for training.

Q : You were the Navy Commander during the height of the war. It was during this time of the year in 2009 that fights were intensive to capture Kilinochchi and Elephant pass. How was your experience?

A : The LTTE were getting their arms and ammunition all the time. And their modus operandi was to stock their arms and ammunition in ships which were like floating ware houses. These ships stay at high seas and when the need arises transfer arms and ammunition in to fishing trawlers in small quantities – when I say small quantities it is nearly 2 – 5 tons depending on the size of the trawler. These trawlers mingle with our fishing fleet , sometimes they paint Sinhala names on these trawlers, to mislead the Navy and transport them to the land. Sometimes they used Indian fishing trawlers as those are made for multi-day fishing in deep sea with more space to carry weapons.

But in 2007 we developed our intelligence network and gathered comprehensive knowledge on these floating warehouses. By studying the information sent by ground commanders to Joint Operations Head Quarters I came to the conclusion that destroying fishing trawlers was not the answer. Trawlers were only the symptoms we had to address the cause. Then we decided to go in search of the floating warehouses and destroy them. We destroyed eight vessels they had. They went down with the entire arms and ammunition stock. So from 2007 October the LTTE did not have any fresh weapons smuggled to the country. The LTTE knew for every bullet they fired there was no replacement. As a result they could not hold on to vast areas. So they had to withdraw. The LTTE tried manufacturing weapons locally but it was not successful. They began to withdraw as they were loosing the battle by 2008.

Q: How do you compare those days and the present?

A : Well it was a tensed period. Today a large number of people from the South visit the North. During the time terrorism people could not travel and live peacefully.

Q: How do you feel when you see the present peaceful situation in the country?

A: I feel very happy that I was able to be in the team that restored peace in the country. The credit for gaining victory cannot be claimed by one party alone. It is the team work led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa which gave us a lot of strength. For example the Api wenuwe api program a brainchild of Secretary Defence Gotabaya Rajapaksa gave a moral boost to the three Forces.

Q : As the Navy Commander you were directly involved with the political leadership of the country. How would you explain your experience.

A : I will give you one example. It will show how supportive the political leadership was. Comparatively we are a small Navy. We do not have state of the art ships to sail to Australia or Indonesia in search of LTTE floating warehouses. Our Engineers had to improvise and modify land weapons to suit the ship with stabilized platforms. When you start a battle close to another country, that country may not like that happening at their door steps.

The LTTE were conducting suicide missions at sea and if one of our vessels were destroyed it would be serious situation . When I explained to President Rajapaksa of all this risks before launching the attacks against the floating warehouse he instructed us to go ahead.

That was a huge boost to us. When you know that the President and the Secretary of Defence are backing you fully it was a tremendous boosy to us.

We were confident that the President would not bow down to international pressure. As we all know Senior Indian politicians and Government officials asked him to stop it. David Miliband the Foreign Minister of United Kingdom and Bernard Kouchner the Foreign Minister of France tried to prevent the President going ahead with the task of destroying the LTTE.

That is why the t international pressures is being put on Sri Lanka on account of human right violation allegations.

Q : Ven. Rathana Thera and opposition parties claimed that the President alone cannot claim the war victory. Your comments.

A : The President has not claimed victory alone. He said that it was collective effort. It is the President's leadership plus the support of others as a team made this victory a reality. But leadership matters a lot. The President provided that leadership. If he bowed down to international pressure things would have been different. So this is where he should get the credit. He maintained a stable government, as the regime was a coalition of different political parties. All these provided a conducive environment to win the war against terrorism.

Q : We are in the cross roads of another crucial election. How do you read the future of Sri Lanka? Will a change of Government at this point hamper the on going development activities?

A: I will not talk of politics. But we need a strong leadership. A strong leadership to continue this thrust we gained with peace. With the peace, the country is on the path to develop it’s economy. This should not be hampered. We need to stay on track without messing around with these policies. If we start messing around, investors will not come. Though we defeated the LTTE in the country they are functioning as a political body in Europe, North America, Australia and many parts of the world.

Their fund-raising mechanism is still intact. With these funds they are carrying propaganda campaigns against Sri Lanka in these countries. There are nearly 17,000 ex combatants integrated to the society. Those extremists with LTTE ideology and leadership could mislead these ex combatants. If that happens, it would be a threat to national security. There should be no room left for such activities. Otherwise all the sacrifices made in these years by young men and women in the security forces will be in vain.