(High Commission of India, Colombo, Press Release) The 26th Session of the Board of Directors of the India-Sri Lanka Foundation was held in Colombo on 28 January, 2011. The Board session was co-chaired by the High Commissioner of India, Mr. Ashok K. Kantha and the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka, Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam, and was attended by members of the Board, Mr. M. Rasgotra, Prof. P.V. Indiresan, Mr. Sunimal Fernando and Mr. Thirukumar Nadesan.
The Board of Directors considered a number of proposals received by the Colombo Secretariat and the New Delhi Secretariat of the India-Sri Lanka Foundation and approved proposals promoting understanding and cooperation between India and Sri Lanka in diverse fields such as education and culture, youth exchange and handicrafts, etc.
The Board of Directors also decided to launch an India-Sri Lanka Foundation Fellowship which will be offered to post-graduate students below the age of 35 years for upto one year of research at reputed and recognized institutions primarily in the area of social sciences and fine arts. The Fellowship will offer a remuneration of INR 50,000 per month and return airfare. Both Colombo and New Delhi Secretariat will shortly invite nominations for the Fellowship.
The India-Sri Lanka Foundation was established by a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of India and Sri Lanka in 1998 and is financed through revenues from a trust set up with grants made available by the two governments. The objectives of the Foundation are to foster India-Sri Lanka relations through the enhancement of economic, scientific, technical and cultural cooperation between India and Sri Lanka and to promote greater understanding between the people of the two countries.
The programmes undertaken by the India-Sri Lanka Foundation include financing higher studies, research and other education activities at institutes of learning located in India, facilitating visits and exchanges between India and Sri Lanka of scholars, academic, professionals, artists, experts involved in areas of activities covered by the foundation; assisting activities such as seminars, symposia, colloquia, and workshops of subjects of common interest; extending financial support to those non-governmental organizations both in India and Sri Lanka whose work facilities achievement of the objectives of the foundation and contributing towards publication of standard works on India-Sri Lanka relations in specific fields.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo has given a grant of $5,000 to bring 30 students and teachers from all over Sri Lanka to the Galle Literary Festival to be held at the end of this week. The participants come from the University of Ruhuna, Southeastern University, Sabaragamuwa University, and the University of Jaffna.
They will attend a full schedule of events at the festival, meet both national and international writers, and participate in special teambuilding sessions while in Galle.
For five years the Galle Literary Festival has brought together writers and readers from all over the world to Sri Lanka for free and open discussions about culture, literature, history and politics. Recently, the Festival has expanded its audience by introducing an innovative children’s program and other forms of community outreach that enable a wide variety of people with differing perspectives to learn from one another.
We support these efforts and hope for broad and engaged participation at this year’s festival. Events like this one can help bring about fuller freedom of expression in Sri Lanka.
Embassy of United States of America Press Release January 24, 2010
Press Release (Colombo/New York: 19 January 2011): In response to devastating flooding in Sri Lanka, the United Nations and its partners are seeking US$ 51 million to meet the urgent needs of more than one million people for the next six months.
Torrential rain caused by the La Nina weather phenomenon in Sri Lanka’s eastern and central districts in the last week has caused more than 360,000 people to flee their homes and claimed 43 lives.
The flood waters, which reached an almost 100 year high, are now receding and people are returning to their homes but it is estimated that 6,000 homes are totally destroyed and 23,000 are partially damaged. Some 10,000 people still remain displaced in temporary relocation centers.
“I hope donors will respond rapidly to help the survivors of these devastating floods, which have hit many people who were desperately vulnerable to begin with,” said Catherine Bragg, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator who is in Sri Lanka. “As the longer-term economic impact is also bound to be serious, assistance now will be crucial for the recovery effort that must follow.”
The majority of the people affected (94 per cent) live in the eastern and northern districts and agricultural production is the main source of livelihood for these people. This season’s paddy harvest is now severely damaged and will result in increased food insecurity in some areas.
“These floods are an enormous and tragic setback for a community that is slowly rebuilding their lives following the 2004 tsunami and recovering from the decades-long conflict,” said Ms Bragg. “It’s hard to comprehend how people can recover from yet another disaster, especially as they were at a stage where they had planted crops and had the possibility of a sustained livelihood.”
During the first day of her mission to Sri Lanka, Ms Bragg met with the international aid community and donors to hear the latest on the flood response as well as on the humanitarian needs in the north of the country where the most vulnerable populations live following the end of the conflict.
Most organizations warned that their resources to respond to the flood crisis were exhausted because they were used to respond to earlier flooding in December. They warned of concerns for the remainder of the northeast monsoon season which goes until February, if there were heavy rains again and the big impact this could have on the lives of already vulnerable people.
The Flash Appeal will be officially launched on 20 January in Colombo by Ms Bragg after she has visited the worst flood-affected areas in the eastern province, as well as conflict-related return areas in the north. The Appeal will be revised within the next month to reflect needs as the situation evolves.
Today, the European Commission decided to provide emergency funding of €2 million for humanitarian assistance to flood victims in Sri Lanka. Some of the heaviest rains in Eastern and North Central Sri Lanka in recent weeks have resulted in significant flooding affecting close to one million people. The relief will be provided directly to the people affected through international aid agencies primarily for emergency food assistance, water and sanitation, and emergency relief items.
Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, said: “When I see the images of devastation in Sri Lanka, I know that it is the EU’s duty to support the emergency relief effort. Our humanitarian assistance aims to help the most vulnerable victims of these severe weather conditions.”
The Commissioner added: “My main concern for the future is for the livelihood of those affected by the floods, which have devastated their crops. With so many other natural disasters affecting farmlands throughout the world, I fear a potentially huge humanitarian impact from the increasingly erratic weather patterns.”
Over 300,000 Sri Lankans have been displaced to temporary relocation centres or host families. Many more are affected as the floods have caused major damage to infrastructure, making access to many communities difficult, and in some cases impossible.
For information on Commission’s humanitarian aid: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm
Since February 2009, the Central Bank has eased its monetary policy stance by reducing the policy rates, viz., the Repurchase rate and the Reverse Repurchase rate by 325 basis points and 300 basis points, respectively. In response, the market interest rates have also adjusted downwards. The banks’ lending rates have also declined with a time lag, but are yet to show full downward adjustment. At the same time, the current macro economic performance and stability warrant a reduction in the risk premia added to lending rates, thus leading to the spread between lending rates and deposit rates of banks reducing further.
In view of the foregoing, the Central Bank has requested all banks to take appropriate measures to reduce interest rates to at least the following levels by end of October 2010:
- Interest rates on housing loans to 14 per cent per annum.
- Interest rates on credit card advances to 24 per cent per annum.
- Interest rates on other loans and advances to be adjusted downwards by around a further 1-2 per cent per annum.
The Committee of Chartered Accountants appointed by the Supreme Court wishes to inform the security deposit holders of The Golden Key Credit Card Company Limited that it has now completed the Phase 1 of the Repayment of security deposits as approved by the Supreme Court.
Accordingly, all eligible security deposit holders have been paid on the basis of either 75 % of the security deposit balances as at 31.12.2008 or Rs. 100,000 whichever is lower after verification by the auditors. As at 14.07.2010, a sum of Rs. 772.93 million has been paid to 7,838 security deposit holders. The Committee has also sent letters to security deposit holders who have not provided details relating to their security deposits requesting them to submit those details to the Chief Operating Officer, Secretariat to the Committee of Chartered Accountants, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Tower 1, Level 7, No.30, Janadhipathi Mawatha, Colombo 1 without further delay.
The Committee with the approval of the Supreme Court has already advertised to dispose of certain assets belonging to The Golden Key Credit Card Company Ltd. and related companies after obtaining the valuation of such assets from the Chief Government Valuer.
The Committee will decide on the next instalment of payment to security deposit holders after submitting a report to the Supreme Court for approval at the next hearing on 06.08.2010.
1. Honourable Speaker, it is with great honour that I present to this House the Budget for 2010 under the astute leadership of His Excellency the President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
2. At the very outset, it is my fervent duty to thank the people of this country who gave a resounding mandate to His Excellency the President at the Presidential Election concluded in January 2010 and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) at the General Election concluded in April 2010.
The landslide victory at both elections is a clear endorsement of policies pursued by the Government since 2005 under the leadership of His Excellency the President. Almost two thirds of our voting population placed confidence in the bold leadership of His Excellency the President in the successful elimination of LTTE terrorism and restoring peace. The mandate from the two elections was also an expression of whole-hearted support to the ‘Mahinda Chintana – Vision for the Future’ – the election manifesto of the President which promised to transform Sri Lanka into the ‘Emerging Wonder of Asia’.
3. Hon. Speaker, the previous Parliament in November 2009 approved a Vote on Account for the first four months of 2010 due to Presidential and Parliamentary Elections held during that time. Thereafter, due to the limited time available to go through a full budget cycle, His Excellency the President in terms of section 150(3) of the Constitution of the Republic, authorized expenditure for a further period of three months in 2010. This Budget incorporates expenditure incurred by the Government under these two arrangements into the 2010 annual appropriation account and further seeks parliamentary approval for expenditure for the balance part of this year to carry out government operations.
Therefore, the Draft Estimates placed before this august Assembly, provide details of the annual provisions under each of the ministries and programs that require approval from the Parliament. In essence this is a transitional Budget reflecting expenditure under previously functioning ministries adjusted to new ministries and a stepping stone in making provision to firmly prepare the work plans towards the 2011 Budget – which is scheduled to be presented to the Parliament before the end of the year.
4. Hon. Speaker, our government has managed mandy challenges. The 26 year conflict was brought to an end and the entire country has been unified. We owe a special gratitude to our brave soldiers who made peace and a unified Sri Lanka, a reality. The humanitarian operation conducted by our brave soldiers under the leadership of our President as the Commander in Chief that rescued nearly 300,000 hostages who were under the grips of the LTTE leadership, was not only an admirable mission but also a mission that was conducted while respecting all international Conventions and norms. There is nothing that we need to hide and cover. As such, nobody has any right to interfere with our internal affairs.
Day to day life in the tsunami affected coastal belt – which was the area most affected by the worst ever natural disaster experienced by our country – has been normalized. In comparison to other countries which have been confronted with similar disasters, our Government and its machinery demonstrated unique progress in implementing the post disaster recovery program. Sri Lanka’s unique standing in managing both natural disasters as well as manmade disasters are admirable and certainly a model for even others to follow.
5. Our government managed to withstand the global economic and financial crisis without experiencing a collapse in our banking and financial institutions. Despite serious financial constraints and fiscal stress we have successfully carried forward infrastructure development initiatives. The country is witnessing a steady progress in the construction of power plants, sea and airports, expressways, the road network and bridges, new irrigation schemes, water supply projects, schools, universities, hospitals, stadiums, convention centres and several other infrastructure investments initiated under the leadership of His Excellency the President – under the ‘Randora’ programme to transform Sir Lanka as a modern and well performing economy in the region.
Our policies towards restoring food security in the wake of an unparalleled global food crisis enabled the country to move towards self sufficiency goals in rice, cash crops, animal food, fruits and vegetables. Ending the conflict in the North and East has helped the country to move onto a large sale expansion in agriculture, livestock, fishery resources etc. On the economic reform front, we also kept our commitment to refrain from privatization and pursued a viable alternative to neo-liberal economic reforms. We placed confidence in three key segments – private, public and co-operative sectors in our economy. The government made good progress in strengthening public services, including islandwide educational and health services, the regulatory framework and the rural economy.
6. Hon. Speaker, our economy like all other economies in the world, faced grave uncertainties in 2008/9. Growth had started deceleration and external reserves as well as fiscal reserves have started declining. The cost of living and inflation were rising. The global economy was facing scarcity in food supplies and major supplying countries were resorting to protectionism. It was not clear to policy makers in many countries and to international financial institutions, how the global economic crisis would eventually unfold. The global economic outlook at that time was bleak.
In the meantime we had to manage two key major internal challenges. First, the humanitarian operations launched by the government in 2006 – to liberate the nation from terrorism and pave the way for peaceful living to our people in our land – had reached the final phase and was demanding an uncompromising commitment of our time, resources and the strength of unity to end the conflict. Second, infrastructure initiatives which we had launched to address lagging supplies in key facilities such as electricity had reached a mature stage of construction, which could not have been suspended.
Hon.Speaker, our government acted intelligently in managing these internal and external complexities. Today, I can say with confidence that we have weathered these crises and challenges. The international Monetary Fund (IMF) which extended support to stabilize our economy with US$ 2.6 billion Stand-By Arrangement (SBA) has endorsed the ‘Mahinda Chintana – Vision for the Future’ as a way forward to transform our economy. We also plan to claim our eligibility for IBRD Credit considering our graduation to a middle income country status. Improvements witnessed by us in the area of international finance has enabled us to shift our medium term international bonds to long term debt, providing a better debt profile to be managed.
7. Hon. Speaker, reflecting the unique resilience of our entrepreneurs, the steadfast determination of our workforce and the policy environment that our government created Sri Lanka has attained middle income economy status with per capita income rising from US$ 1,062 in 2004 to US$ 2,053 in 2009 – an achievement that the whole nation can proudly speak of. This means that our Government has been successful in placing our economy at an annual average growth of 6 percent during the past five years in comparison to a growth rate of 4 percent in the preceding five years. Unemployment has been brought down to around 5 percent from 8.3 percent in 2004.
Inflation, which was a perennial problem for almost two decades in the area of macroeconomic management, has been stabilized at around 5 percent. International reserves which declined to a critical low level of US$ 1.2 billion have been raised in excess of US$ 6 billion providing stability to the exchange rate regime. These developments have helped us, to bring-down the rate of interest, which was another critical impediment that our economy had been confronted with for many years, limiting growth potential of our entrepreneurs. Although further progress is necessary in selected regions and communities, the poverty indicators have also drastically declined to around 15 percent of the household population as compared to 23 percent few years ago.
8. Hon, Speaker, our people today, have better access to electricity, drinking water, a quality road network, telecommunications, transport, primary and secondary education and health facilities, than five years ago. The connectivity between the rural and urban areas which we have established is far superior to the status of not only our neighbouring countries, but also in terms of other emerging economies around us. Our Government embarked on an island-wide integrated development strategy in the rural economy which had been marginalized for several years under successive Governments.
The Gama Neguma the national integrated rural development strategy of the Government, provides rural roads, electricity, drinking water and irrigation, sanitation facilities and a wide range of livelihood activities targeting almost all districts in the country. As a result, there has been a unique improvement in the rural economy and once again made the rural sector attractive to our people. Hon. Speaker, Mahinda Chintana development framework which has harnessed the economic growth to consolidate progress in making development more inclusive is an eye opener to the failures of post liberal policy regimes commenced since 1977.
Financial situation
9. Hon. Speaker, in addition to the details provided in the report prepared in terms of the Fiscal Management Responsibility Act to this Parliament, I wish to make a snapshot analysis on the current status of the financial and economic situation for the benefit of the honourable members. The economy has rebound with a 6.2 percent growth registering in the last quarter of 2009 and a 7.1 percent growth in the first quarter of 2010. Almost all sectors have contributed to this recovery. In the agriculture sector – the production of paddy and maize has shown a marked increase while the production of many varieties of up and low country vegetables have suffered production losses due to adverse weather conditions that prevailed in recent months. Fish production in the first four months has increased by 6.2 percent.
The shortfall in chicken, meat and egg production witnessed during the last several months has shown a recovery and a full recovery is expected by the end of the year. Tea production during the first four months of the year – has increased by 25 percent whilst rubber production has increased by 12 percent. Output expansion in the factory industry was facilitated by favourable improvements in both export and domestic markets. Food, beverages and tobacco sub-sector registered a growth of 6.9 percent, while rubber based industry recorded a growth of 8.1 percent due to increased external demand for tyres and gloves in the international market. Textile, apparel and leather products recorded only a marginal growth increase of 1 percent. In the service sector, cargo and container handling activities have shown a marked increase of 41 percent and 27 percent respectively. Banking and Financial Institutions too have shown an expansion in their turnover.
10. Export earnings increased by 7.1 percent to US$ 1,764 million in the first quarter of 2010, largely due to the expansion in agriculture sector exports. Expenditure on imports increased by 39.5 percent to US$ 3,235 million mainly due to the increase in the cost of oil imports. Tourist arrivals increased by 28.5 percent reflecting a significant increase in arrivals from Western Europe and South Asian markets. Worker remittances in the first three months of 2010 increased by 14.1 percent.
A strong growth in remittance income and income from exports of services have neutralized the deficits in the trade account and hence contributed to a lower current account deficit. Reflecting the improvement in the overall Balance of Payments, total external reserves as at end April 2010 stood at US$ 6,578 million. The year-on-year growth in broad money in April this year, recorded 16.5 percent. The expansion in net foreign assets of the banking system as well as growth in domestic credit has contributed to this increase.
The credit extended to the private sector which was contracting for several months has recorded an increase of 1.7 percent in April reflecting a recovery in the economy. The domestic money market continued to experience high liquidity. The Central Bank continued to absorb such excess liquidity through the issuance of Central Bank Securities. Interest rates continued to adjust downward reflecting market liquidity and low inflationary expectation. On a year-on-year basis, inflation declined to 4.6 percent by June 2010. The annual average inflation at present is around 3.8 percent.
Fiscal framework
11. Hon. Speaker, our fiscal strategy from 2005, has three fundamental objectives. First, we consider that the historically high Budget deficit in this country must be phased out in order to reduce the debt burden and strengthen the financial situation so that our people will have better access to finance from our financial institutions. However, we do not believe that such a deficit reduction should be done at the cost of economic growth. We also do not recognize privatization of state enterprises, selling state assets and cutting down public investments for fiscal adjustment. We believe such adjustment should be done through improvement in the quality of government spending, by putting state assets into productive use and collecting revenue through a broad based and low tax regime. Implementation of such policies will certainly be conducive for business development by the private sector and also be conducive to generate a high growth rate in excess of 8 percent.
Second, it is important that our operational expenditure is managed well within our income. Therefore we believe that generating a revenue surplus by a gradual increase in government revenue and economizing operational expenditure of the government will be a way forward for a sustained improvement in government finance. The generation of a revenue surplus will be the most constructive way of reducing the budget deficit because it will provide fiscal space to accommodate high public investments. Third, we believe that maintaining a public investment in the range of 6 to 7 percent of GDP in support of infrastructure development is essential to induce the private sector to increase their investment. Unless strategic infrastructure is provided by the government in a meaningful manner, private sector investments are unlikely to generate desired development and create an inclusive growth.
12. Hon. Speaker, although the adverse global economic climate, high debt services and global food insecurity, disrupted our policy direction towards generating a revenue surplus, particularly during 2008/9, and disturbed our deficit reduction path, our government managed to maintain public investment in excess of 6 percent of GDP every year since 2005 in comparison to around four percent prior to that. Consequently, a satisfactory progress has been realized in resolving the infrastructure bottlenecks of our country.
This infrastructure development enabled the country to function free from power cuts, which was a common phenomenon prior to 2005. A decisive improvement has been made to the road network by completing about 6000 kilometres of national and provincial roads and 40 large bridges connecting previously unreachable destinations. The capacity of providing drinking water has been increased, providing greater access to quality drinking water to our people.
The port facilities to cater to both transshipment and international trade which were lagging are being developed. The country would witness the completion of two international ports and a second international airport towards the middle of next year – expanding the growth potential of our economy. Several major irrigation schemes including the ‘Uma Oya’ and “Moragahakanda’ projects have been commenced to provide the much needed irrigated water to both Southern and Northern districts in the country. Our vision is to increase the area under irrigation to reduce vulnerabilities of our agricultural sector to the vagaries of weather.
13. All these together with several other infrastructure facilities are being undertaken with grants and longterm loans from our friendly countries, multilateral institutions, and the capital market as well as from our domestic saving institutions such as the Employees’ Provident Fund. This naturally forms part of our debt, but the creation of such debt has been done with a conscious commitment to create an asset base which will multiple in value and be capable of generating a stream of income that can service such debt comfortably.
This is why Hon. Speaker, our government has been able to bring down public debt in relation to GDP from 102 percent, in 2004 to around 80 percent at present. Such a reduction is possible only when the growth in government borrowing is kept below the growth in national income of the country. Hon. Speaker, this Parliament which is solely responsible to manage our public finance must appreciate that the external debt is also managed in an environment that many global currencies are subject to unmanageable volatilities causing us to meet extra liabilities. It is in this background that the conduct of macro public finance must be examined.
14. The deficit and debt reduction process which witnessed a temporary aberration in 2008/9 due to the global financial crisis will be arrested in 2010. Our government is determined that both the Budget deficit and public debt will be brought down from 9.9 percent of GDP and 87 percent of GDP respectively in 2009 to 8 percent and 80 percent respectively in 2010. Hon. Speaker we have framed this Budget with the prime objective of consolidating our finance to reduce the revenue deficit from 3.7 percent in 2009 to 2.1 percent in 2010 and maintain public investment at 6.5 percent of GDP. Such an adjustment will enable us to keep the deficit at 8 percent of GDP which is a 2 percentage point reduction over the last year.
This downward path will be maintained in the next three years. This also means that our debt in proportion to GDP will be placed below 70 percent of GDP in 2012. Our debt profile is well diversified, is less commercial and has a long term maturity. The long term fiscal strategy of our government is to create a wealth base far in excess in value of our total debt to make our nation free from the burden of debt. More detailed policy initiatives which are now being gradually implemented and expected to accelerate with the forthcoming Budget, will be placed before this House by His Excellency the President in November 2010.
Medium term roadmap
15. Hon. Speaker, the realization of a ‘mine-threat-free’ Sri Lanka and complete re-settlement of internally displaced people are very critical targets in our development strategy in the conflict affected areas. When the Northern Province was liberated from the LTTE, over 640 villages, covering 1,474 square kilometres had been laid with land mines. It is estimated that about 1.5 million mines have been laid underground by the LTTE. As re-settlement had to be undertaken in this challenging environment, the government prioritized the de-mining operations in targeted places such as residential areas, public places and farm lands.
The Government itself had to invest nearly Rs. 7,000 million rupees to purchase de-mining equipment and to set up a de-mining unit as the capacity of the international NGOs was inadequate to undertake the task of this proportion. While in short-term this is satisfactory progress, we will continue to expand de-mining operations with the assistance of our friendly nations and UN institutions. Within one year since the end of the conflict, the government was able to resettle nearly 250,000 internally displaced persons liberated from the terror of the LTTE. As of now, only around 25,000 displaced persons remain in welfare centres and they too, will be re-settled before the end of this year.
16. The immediate relief and rehabilitation include the provision of family allowances and dry rations followed by opening beneficiary bank accounts for each of the resettled families to empower themselves to develop their own housing arrangements as well as livelihood programs. Distribution of roofing sheets and cement bags have been provided for over 45,415 families to develop their core housing units. Each of the identified households is assisted with a core housing unit and settlement assistance. We propose to empower people to build their permanent homes with their participation in construction activities.
Already an assessment is being carried out to identify fully and partially damaged houses, schools, hospitals, office buildings, court houses, bus-stands and market places to implement an accelerated rehabilitation program. In addition to owner driven home building initiatives selected townships will be developed depending on community needs. The government greatly appreciates the generous offer extended by the Government of India to build 50,000 houses for the benefit of these families, following His Excellency the President’s recent state visit to India. Arrangements are being made to bring about 40,000 hectares of cultivable areas in the Northern and Eastern districts to full scale of cultivation in the forthcoming ‘Maha’ season to improve the livelihoods of the people as well as to transform economic activities in those areas. The opening of the A-9 road, removal of fishing restrictions, opening of bank branches and unrestricted transportation have expedited business development in the North.
17. A comprehensive medium to long-term reconstruction strategy has been planned to transform conflict affected areas in order to create decent living conditions. The construction arrangement of railway lines in the Northern sector connecting Thalaimannar to Medawachchiya and Oamanthai to Kankasanthurai and such arrangement for the construction of national highways such as the A-9 and the A-32 have been finalized. Funding arrangements have been secured to implement water supply, roads, electricity, schools, hospitals, Court houses, administrative facilities, police posts, drinking water, irrigation and livelihood programs.
Assistance to implement rehabilitation and reconstruction programs in the conflict affected areas have been received from Australia, India, China, Japan, Switzerland, the United Nations, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Total funds mobilized for integrated conflict affected area development is around US$ 2 billion, which will enable the Government to address pressing needs in these areas over the next two to three years. Hon. Speaker, His Excellency the President repeatedly states that neither peace without development, nor development without peace is sustainable. Now that the conflict has ended, the Government will concentrate fully on rapid development of those areas. The early completion of these development initiatives will change the landscape providing North South connectivity and build a strong economic base to exploit agriculture, livestock, fisheries and tourism based investment opportunities in the North and East.
18. Hon. Speaker, ending the conflict has reopened opportunities to exploit the full potential of tourism in Sri Lanka. The President has set up a target of 2.5 million tourist with estimated foreign exchange earnings of around US$ 2.8 billion by the year 2016. This is almost a five-fold increase in tourist arrivals and a nine fold increase in foreign exchange earnings. Such an expansion in tourism will undoubtedly generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for around 500,000 people. The room capacity required to accommodate increased tourists would be around 40,000 over and above the current stock of around 12,000.
This opens new avenues for our construction industry as well as for our youth. Investment opportunities in tourism over the next six years are estimated to be around US$ 3 billion and this requires the involvement in both private sector as well as foreign direct investment. Seven resorts have been already identified to attract investment to create a capacity of nearly 10,000 rooms in a resort environment. Large hotels outside the resort environment and in urban townships and small and medium investment in the hotels sector are also expected to add to the required capacity in tourism. The Government’s medium term strategy will also emphasize an integrated development approach to establish linkages to the local construction industry, domestic agriculture and a wide range of services. It also involves the creation of required skills and diverting the labour force to these new economic activities.
19. Hon. Speaker, our Government’s vision for future development envisages accelerating the growth rate to around 8 percent in the medium term and placing the country’s growth path around a double digit level thereafter. This means our country needs to raise total investments to around 40 percent over the next ten years. As public investment will concentrate more on the long-term infrastructure and will be 6-7 percent of GDP, private sector investments need to be increased from the current level of 19-20 percent to 31-33 percent.
This increase cannot be mobilized from our domestic private sector alone as the country does not have domestic savings to meet such a large resource requirement. Further, to create a modern economy we need investments in a wide range of businesses ranging from small and medium industrial and agricultural activities to IT and business processing operations, renewable energy, ports, shipping, aviation and related services, urban townships and various professional services including health, education, and other managerial and skilled categories. Our own economic activities will need to have more domestic value addition processes to maximize the best value within our economy. All these demand not only investments in physical assets and in factories but also in a wide range of skills development and technology transfers. Therefore, the Government will encourage both private investment and public investment of every sphere of economic activity in the country.
20. Hon. Speaker, the Government as the enabler, has a responsibility in this regard. One is to put the policy right. Second is to infuse institutional efficiency. Third is to provide the required infrastructure and regulatory services and the fourth, is to put national security, law and order in place. In all these four areas we propose to move very rapidly and decisively.
21. Hon. Speaker, our tax system is outdated, complex, narrowly focused and unattractive to investment and business development. It does not generate the required revenue and encourage people to save. Therefore, we plan comprehensive reforms to our tax system. His Excellency the President, having recognized the need for this transformation appointed a Presidential Commission on Taxation in 2009. The Commission which has given valuable insight into our tax system is expected to finalize its recommendations on tax policy, and tax administration before August this year. The interim recommendations and directions provided by the Commission are to do away with the operation of multiple taxes, and move onto a simple, broad based, low tax regime.
The Ministry of Finance and Planning and the relevant departments and agencies are working in this direction and have undertaken preparatory work to ensure that our medium term taxation system will be revenue buoyant, broad based, business friendly and equitable. In this context the Government has already initiated certain actions such as the removal of the Customs surcharge, the introduction of a four band Custom tariff structure consisting of 0,5,15 and 30 percent and a rationalized duty structure for motor vehicles. The Government has also brought down total tax rates on consumer durable not manufactured in Sri Lanka such as cameras, telephones, watches, etc., below 10 percent by eliminating many multiple taxes on those items that had only encouraged smuggling, tax evasion and corruption.
We trust that this initiative will promote international shopping facilities in our country and attract more global commercial activities. The Government also proposes in the medium term to bring down excessive tax rates on personal and corporate income as well as banking and financial institutions and do away with ad hoc and unproductive tax concessions offered by the Board of Investment and in terms of income tax laws. The dichotomy between the BOI and non-BOI regimes will be corrected to create a level playing field. We believe that such a tax structure will be affordable to the taxpaying community in our society. Economic activities that such a regime will promote in the formal economy will increase revenue far in excess of the current level. The goal of our government is to increase revenue in excess of at least 17 percent of GDP over the medium term.
22. Hon. Speaker, global financial systems have undergone fundamental changes following the financial crisis of 2008/09. The regulatory systems and supervisory controls exercised by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission have protected the country’s financial system from any casualties during the recent financial crisis. Nevertheless, unauthorized operation of certain financial transactions and financial scandals in selected financial institutions has caused serious threat to our people and to well functioning financial institutions. In this background our government proposes to introduce a series of legislative changes to existing banking and financial laws in the next few months with a view to strengthen regulatory arrangements and reform banking and financial institutions. Finance companies, specialized banking institutions and micro financing institutions will be brought under strict regulatory supervision to mitigate risks associated with such institutions.
The Central Bank has initiated action to encourage non-bank financial institution to be listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange to improve greater accountability in their performance. Securities and Exchange Commission will introduce necessary legislation to promote further market instruments to encourage companies using equity markets for capital formation, while broadbasing public ownership in business.
However, Hon. Speaker, the Government wishes to urge our people to transact only with regulated financial institutions approved by the Central Bank so that they will not be victims of corporate scandals. In the financial sector, in order to strengthen the role of development banking, the nine regional development banks have now been merged as a single regional development bank with a strong capital base, to be the catalyst in uplifting the rural economy.
Two State banks, once considered involvement by the then government, have been made strong with AA rating on their performance. They no longer operate on the backing of Letters of Comfort issued by the Government for capital adequacy. They have met their capital adequacy requirements satisfactorily. These two banks together with the National Savings Bank, Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation and the provident funds will be catalysts in equity market development in the future, in addition to mobilizing financial savings.
23. Hon. Speaker, it is necessary that our administrative systems and procedures be modernized and made efficient to reward individual and entrepreneurial initiatives – particularly in an economy like ours where small and medium enterprises are predominant. Having recognized this, the Cabinet of Ministers has appointed a Sub-Committee under my chairmanship to come up with necessary recommendations before the formulation of the next Budget, to simplify all administrative and regulatory procedures, practices and related laws. All line ministries have been requested to identify specific areas pertaining to their respective fields of operation, which can be opened for private sector investment, and private-public co-operation. Line ministries have also been requested to workout mechanisms through which the public sector could facilitate such investments and business development by the private sector. The Board of Investment, the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority and the Urban Development Authority are also working very closely on new project profiles that will create urban space for private investment to facilitate emerging commercial needs of our economy.
24. Hon. Speaker, our medium term strategy will also address the changes required in our public services. Strategic public enterprises such as banks and utility services will be re-oriented with modern managerial skills and best commercial practices. All State enterprises will be made commercially efficient to reduce their reliance on the Government budget by orienting them towards a dividend paying enterprise culture. Line ministries and departments will be strengthened in their service delivery activities to ensure that the government machinery is at work. The newly created Ministry of Management Reforms headed by the former Prime Minister will concentrate on required administrative reforms in the public service to make and efficient government machinery by reducing bureaucratic controls & interventions and simplifying outlived systems and procedures.
As stated in our Elections Manifesto, we give priority to address various problems confronted by public servants, including remuneration issues. As you are aware, Hon. Speaker, it is His Excellency the President who appointed a Salaries and Cadres Commission on a permanent basis to deal with salary anomalies and raised the minimum salary level of a public servant from Rs. 7,900 to Rs. 11,730 through his very first Budget presented to the Parliament. The government introduced a Cost-of-Living Allowance which has now increased to Rs. 5,250 per month – in addition to the salary, concessionary housing loans, leave benefits, medical insurance and pension rights have also been restored.
Almost 500,000 personnel have been recruited to the public service. Since government implemented a new salary structure, several Trade Unions have demanded corrections of prevailing anomalies among services. Many of such services are without proper Service Minutes. Government expects the relevant line ministries and Salaries and Cadres Commission to finalize all such Service Minutes early, paving the way to implement a new salaries structure thereafter. As in the past, all Trade Unions will be invited for consultations in finalizing the new salaries structure that will be the basis for the salary increase effective from 2011 Budget. Hon. Speaker, His Excellency the President also promised to set up an Employees’ Pension Fund for the benefit of all government and private sector employees who are not presently covered by any form of pension. The relevant legislation and regulatory arrangements are being worked out to promote a well functioning social security system for our workforce, effective 2011.
25. Hon. Speaker, our economy is heavily integrated with the global economy. As we depend heavily on external trade and services it is necessary that we set our trade policy in a manner conducive for development. In this regard we propose that raw material and intermediate inputs are available to our domestic users at duty free prices. However, commodities that Sri Lanka has a unique advantage to develop will require high taxes at the point of import to encourage domestic value addition. In this context the agriculture, livestock and fisheries sectors need special attention. It is with such intention we have maintained high duties on the importation of milk powder, wheat grain, sugar, and several agricultural produce, all of which can be produced or in relation which better substitutes could be found in adequate quantities in the country. Hon. Speaker, we are doing this because we believe this is the surest way of encouraging our farmers to produce such essential items within our country. Similarly, in order to promote exports in value added form, we propose to impose suitable taxes on any exports in raw form.
26. We must exploit full potentials of our exports. Tea – which is one of our major export commodities is still being exported in bulk form, while admiring our domestic entrepreneurs who have established local brand names and travelled considerably on the value chain. Regrettably the country as a whole has not exploited its full potentials. The tea industry which currently generates about 1.2 billion dollar export earning, can become a 2.5 billion dollar export activity, and provide much diversified employment opportunities to the people if the industry can be converted to a value added export activity. The government encourages all our plantation companies and manufacturers of value added tea to move in this direction. The country’s rubber industry too has potential to hit a billion dollar threshold. The prospects of this industry have improved considerably with the current trend in natural rubber prices. Sri Lanka is the world’s largest cinnamon exporter. Although our exporters have made good progress, it is necessary that the cinnamon export industry be converted into a billion dollar export activity with well established Sri Lankan brand names.
27. The country’s textile and garment industry which has established an excellent market network, kept to best practices, environmental compliances and quality assurances, has the potential to double its current export earnings of 2.5 billion dollars to nearly five billion dollars. Regrettably, this well performing industry has been subject to undue pressures in recent times due to the use of trade concessions to achieve political objectives of external elements.
However the country needs to reduce the over reliance on traditional markets and move towards emerging new economies rapidly. The Government will introduce a new incentive structure in the forthcoming Budget to encourage exporters to improve their competitiveness and penetrate new markets. Although Sri Lanka was not known for exports of IT and business processing services, since 2005, this activity has graduated to earn around US$ 250 million of foreign exchange, in addition to giving a place of pride to our IT professionals enabling to establish their names in international markets. This sector has a comparative advantage to become a billion dollar export activity considering the skilled labour force and their exposure to international languages.
We have observed huge export potentials in food processing, gem and jewellery, furniture, ceramics, sanitaryware etc, we must not explore only export potentials in manufactured products but also in a wide range of services such as ports, aviation and professional services, to maximize the earning capacity. Our Government’s vision is to increase the skills of our labour force which is looking for overseas employment to enable much higher income. A skilled labour force could double earnings from overseas remittances which are currently in the range of US$ 3.5 billion. Oil exploration and associated industries will demand new skills and services which our universities and skills education institutions need to respond to.
28. Hon. Speaker, food security is a paramount development objective in the ‘Mahinda Chintana – Vision for the Future’. In this regard the government not only proposes to increase our rice production but also to maintain adequate buffer stocks to ensure price stability during off-seasons. Hon. Speaker in the forthcoming ‘Maha’ season, we have planned to cultivate 750,500 hectares of land in comparison to 641,600 hectares cultivated in the previous ‘Maha’ season. Out of this new space of almost 100,000 hectares of land, 40,000 hectares is expected to be cultivated in the North and East and the balance in the rest of the country as farmers have gradually come back to agriculture due to a wide range of incentives, particularly the fertilizer subsidy and high producer prices that this government was able to continuously ensure since 2005.
Our plans aim at reaching the self-sufficiency target in producing maze to replace imports and be able to release foreign exchange savings for development. We have also selected chillies, onions, green gram, cowpea, soya beans, black gram, peanuts, kurakkan and ginger to be produced in targeted areas in the country. Hon. Speaker, this country spends over US $ 300 million in importing milk powder. Our strategy envisages increasing the milk production by getting small and medium scale farmers as well as the large private sector into this industry. A comprehensive planning framework is being worked out jointly by Agriculture, Livestock, Plantation, Trade, Economic Development and Finance Ministries to maximize agricultural production by ensuring the availability of quality seeds, required credit, extension services, a marketing network and storage capacities. As an urgent priority, the paddy procurement arrangement by the Paddy Marketing Board, Cooperative societies and the private sector will be further strengthened to stabilize farm gate prices.
29. A five year activity revival program will form a part of government’s development program to mobilize a large number of small entrepreneurs scattered all over Sri Lanka engaged in traditional and small business development projects. This development strategy will include measures to streamline the availability of credit, quality raw material and equipment, provide technical assistance and a marketing network targeting specific retail outlets to assist small businesses in Sri Lanka. The Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) sector which has suffered due to limited access to finance, high interest rates and excessive transaction costs attributable to the conflict will be supported with restructuring assistance under the enterprise revival programme to be launched from the third quarter of 2010. A project proposal to obtain World Bank assistance to provide long term financing has already been submitted.
30. Our commercial agriculture is largely concentrated in the plantation economy. In the context of current market trends pertaining to export commodities, natural rubber, and spices, the prospects of our plantation agriculture has improved considerably. This sector is also managed predominantly by the private sector and through small holder ownership arrangements. A sector strategy is being worked out by the Ministry of Plantation to increase the production as well as exports through private investments. Replanting and new planting of tea, rubber and coconut as well as moving to new crops and value added industries have been recognized in this medium term strategy particularly to expand the small-holder production base, bring about productivity improvements and diversify large scale plantations.
31. Hon. Speaker, our government considers that the development of irrigation systems is vital not only to promote agriculture but also to maintain bio-diversity and water resources of our country. The government has embarked on the development of Moragahakanda, Uma Oya, Deduru Oya, Weli Oya and several other irrigation schemes to further diversify and broad-base the availability of irrigation facilities to agricultural areas. Such an expansion is expected to bring additional area of land under irrigation and convert many lagging districts into economically prosperous areas during the next six years.
The required investment into these development initiatives which is around US$ 3 billion have been mobilized from our friendly donors. Hon. Speaker while expanding irrigation infrastructure, we must also devote adequate resources for the maintenance of both minor and major irrigation systems to ensure their safety and improve water management in downstream development. The government has already implemented a programme to improve dam safety in all major irrigation projects and increase water reservoir capacity. Investment in this project alone is over Rs. 6,000 million. In the meantime, a separate project targeting Rs. 3,000 million over the next five years will be implemented from 2011 to rehabilitate all irrigation schemes as a major step towards water resource management.
32. Hon. Speaker, upgrading and developing the country’s road network is vital to bring about an inclusive growth benefiting everyone in our society. During the last five year period, around 25 percent of national roads have been rehabilitated. A further 15 percent of the roads are under rehabilitation. The Ministry of Highways in its medium term development framework has identified a further 2,600 kilometres of roads for improvement and rehabilitation at a cost of US$ 2,000 million. The goal of the Government is to ensure that 60 percent of national roads will be in solid condition by 2015.
In addition, the Government expects to complete the Colombo-Katunayake express way, the outer circular road and the Southern express way by 2012 adding 181 kilometres into the country’s road network. A feasibility study for the Colombo-Kandy express way is in progress. Ring-road connections to bypass major townships will be developed to overcome road blocks along the national highways. The development of highway networks includes the completion of the A-9 and the A-32 national highways which will link North to the South. The Government accords high priority for the development of the Provincial road network as well. Since 2005, this Government has developed 1,706 kilometres of Provincial roads and a further 950 kilometres of roads are under rehabilitation. Another 4,700 kilometres of Provincial roads have been identified for development over the next five years at a cost of US$ 945 million. Connecting all these roads to rural villages is an integral part of our rural development strategy – Gama Neguma. 20,000 kilometres or one fourth of the rural road network has been rehabilitated under the Maga Neguma program spending US$ 360 million.
Almost 2,500 kilometres of rural roads have been concreted. We expect a further 20,000 kilometres of rural roads to be improved to motorable condition with an estimated cost of US$ 300 million over the medium term commencing from 2011. Our ultimate objective of this road development program is to transform well over 50 percent of the country’s National, Provincial and rural roads network into solid conditions.
33. Hon. Speaker, the investment of about US$ 2,500 million for the construction of four power generation plants at Norachcholai, Kerawalapitiya, Upper Kothmale and Sampur, has laid a solid foundation to augment our power generation capacity. Further, our Government has promoted several medium scale hydro-power projects and renewable energy initiatives to build a diversified power generation strategy over the medium term. The ongoing rural electrification program together with improvements proposed for the transmission and distribution system will enable the country to provide ‘Electricity for All’ by 2015. Our strategy therefore is to consolidate on these gains and make an energy-sufficient economy. In this context, electricity tariff will be designed to provide sufficient flexibility for users to consume electricity during off peak hours, at low cost. The heavy fuel supply for electricity generation will be maintained at cost price to ensure a stable cost in power generation so that consumers need not be concerned over tariff revisions during the year.
34. Hon. Speaker, our ongoing investment in the port sector is expected to be completed by 2012 by which time we expect a new capacity at both Colombo Port as well as at the Hambantota Port. The first terminal to be built on a private-public partnership basis at the Colombo South Port will commence shortly, since breakwater construction is well on target. Two more new terminals will be developed at regular intervals over the long-term. Industrial port facilities and related services will be developed at the Hambantota Port. Investment will be attracted commencing from 2012 when ongoing major infrastructure developments such as the second international airport, first phase of the Hambantota Port, the international convention centre in the South, the southern expressway and Matara – Kataragama railway line will reach near completion. The Galle Port will be developed as a tourist port. The ports in Oluwil, Kankasanthuraj and Trincomalee will also come into operation at various stages, catering to our diverse needs in global trade.
35. In the transport sector, the government’s strategy is to concentrate on restoration of railway infrastructure and quality improvements in the public transport system. The railway track from Kankasanthurai to Kataragama will be established over the next five years. The work in this connection has already begun. A coherent national transport policy will be put into place to transform all transport services including train, bus and three-wheeler taxis, into an efficient system. As the bus transport system is predominantly operated by the private sector, investment opportunities for them in the sector will be explored to meet required investments for the creation of a modern transport system. The construction of a network rail system in the city of Colombo and suburbs and the electrification of the railway system are medium term objectives.
36. Hon. Speaker, out of 17 universities currently in operation, five universities which are located in the provinces require considerable investments to develop infrastructure and upgrading to be placed on par with standards of other well established universities in Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Higher Education will bring about a regulatory framework to standardize and provide quality assurances in higher education in privately run universities and learning institutions.
(As Presented by Acting Finance Minister Dr.Sarath Amunugama on June 29, 2010)
As the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is commemorated on the 26th June the Asian governments need to face up to their failure to honour their obligations to eliminate the use of torture in their countries. The use of torture is endemic in Asia and the reason for this is that the policing systems still use torture as the main method of investigation into crime. The extent to which torture is used is scandalously high and the time to stop it is clearly now.
Policing in many Asian countries is still very cruel, primitive and also inefficient and corrupt. The extent of the governments’ failure is reflected in the widespread use of torture and their unwillingness to deal with this problem. The nature of the policing systems is very much linked to the kind of political systems that still prevail in Asia. These political systems have made possible the abuse of power and corruption and the local policing systems are used as instruments to facilitate such abuses and corruption.
The use of torture by the police contributes to prevent the development of democratically based political parties. Internal democracy within the parties is prevented by powerful politicians who aspire to power more for personal gain rather than in the service of any national objectives. Internal forces of repression prevent a healthy competitive spirit through which proper political leadership can emerge within these parties. The ruling parties also use the police as an instrument to suppress other political parties from emerging. In this manner the internal democratic process is seriously disturbed by the use of coercion in favour of a few powerful persons. As a result national institutions, vital to ensuring accountability and transparency, are prevented from being developed.
Bad policing based on the constant use of torture and coercion contributes to violence within societies. The chief beneficiaries of bad policing systems are those engaged in organised crime. In many countries direct links are visible between the police and the organised gangs. The emergence of the underground forces disturbs the peace within society and complaints of insecurity are constantly heard from most of the countries.
The fear of the police has so deepened in society that women openly complain that they will not dare to go to a police station even if they have to face some problems which requires the intervention of the police. The fear of rape and sexual harassment by the police has developed to such an extent that women in Asian societies openly express the view that the police are a socially unfriendly agency. During the months of May and June of this year the Asian Human Rights Commission interviewed women from several Asian countries and they unanimously expressed the view that policing in their countries has emerged as an agency which has a negative influence on society.
Bad policing with their power to use coercion and the manipulation of their powers of arrest and detention has reached such levels that many societies cannot make any progress towards democracy or rule of law without first dealing with serious police reforms. Radical police reforms remain the primary requirement of social stability and the prevention of violence.
Unfortunately the use of propaganda relating to the elimination of terrorism has also been used in order to further enhance the possibilities of the misuse of police powers. Under the pretext of anti terrorism even the limited achievement relating to the development of rule of law systems have been undermined. Through extensive powers acquired by anti terrorism laws the powers of arrest and detention are being misused in high proportion. Such abuse is accompanied by extrajudicial killings, by either death in custody or through forced disappearances. Serious crimes are being committed in the name of anti terrorism and as a result impunity has become widespread. The citizen is powerless under these circumstances.
Bad policing and abuse of power through anti terrorism laws has become a major threat to the independence of the judiciary. The judiciary in many countries is powerless when investigations are subverted and when the law enforcement agencies themselves engaged in serious crimes. Recent studies show the manner in which even legal remedies like habeas corpus actions have become ineffective in the face of massive violations by law enforcement agencies.
A theory is now gaining ground that the use of overwhelming power is the only solution to terrorism. Sri Lanka’s experience in the suppression of the LTTE is now being used as a kind of model or example on how to deal with terrorism. The safeguards developed to protect individual rights are even being ridiculed as impractical or counterproductive. Ideological support for the use of naked power and the justification for impunity is being promoted.
All these tendencies are only contributing to create insecurities in society and for unscrupulous politicians to abuse power for their own purposes.
The Asian Human Rights Commission calls on the societies of all Asian countries to take serious note of this dangerous situation. In recent years civil society organisations themselves have compromised with these negative developments and as a result contributed to this situation. Today civil society is challenged by these threatening developments and it is time that civil society faced up to this challenge.
The elimination of torture-based policing and all kinds of justifications for the unscrupulous use of power need to be stopped. This is the issue that needs to be reflected upon by civil society as well as the governments on the occasion of the International Day in Support of Torture Victims. Unless the negative developments mentioned above are seriously dealt with the number of torture victims will only increase. The Asia Human Rights Commission also calls upon the United Nations and the international community to deal with this situation without ambiguity and delay.
Kindly see the statements by women of several Asian countries who have called for the end of bad policing and the use of torture. These may be seen at: http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/search.php?searchstring=women
(A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission on the occasion of the UN International Day in Support of Torture Victims – June 26, 2010)
The Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives is pleased to announce the allocation of an indicative budget of EUR 60 million (LKR 8.4 billion) in grants, as the second part of the EU Country Strategy for Sri Lanka spanning the 2007-2013 period, for new operations to be committed in the period 2011-2013.
With the adoption on 17 June 2010 of the Indicative Programme 2011-2013 for Sri Lanka, the EU focuses on the needs of vulnerable communities, in particular those affected by the conflict which came to an end in 2009, and supports positive developments towards peace, consolidation and reconciliation.
The programme will mainly focus on medium-term assistance in the North and East of the country. Activities will follow onto the projects carried out under the first Indicative Programme 2007-2010 and complement and pursue the emergency relief provided by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO).
During the 2007-2010 period, the EU’s project work included socio-economic measures to support conflict-affected returnees and host communities in Sri Lanka. Ongoing or foreseen activities aim mainly at improving livelihood opportunities and rehabilitation. Together with complementary EU funds for housing and food security, the overall portfolio of projects decided in 2008 and designated as the “EU-Assistance to Conflict Affected People” (EU-ACAP) amounts to EUR 53.2 million.
(Press Office – Delegation of the European Union to Sri Lanka and the Maldives)
GENEVA (ILO News) – As the football World Cup in South Africa kicks off, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is to mark the World Day Against Child Labour with an urgent appeal to “go for the goal – end child labour,” calling particular attention to the target of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016.
“While billions are caught up in the excitement of the football World Cup, some 215 million children are labouring for survival. Education and play are luxuries for them. Progress towards ending child labour is slowing down and we are not on course to end its worst forms by 2016. We have to get the momentum going again. Let us draw inspiration from the World Cup and rise to the challenge with the energy, the right strategy and the commitment it takes to get to the goal ”, said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.
World Day events are being held in more than 60 countries involving governments, employers, workers, and UN, non-governmental and civil society organizations.[1] Events range from high level policy debates, to football matches and other sporting activities, public debates, media events, awareness-raising campaigns, cultural performances and other public activities (For a list of country level events, please click here). Many activities will also focus new attention on the “Red Card campaign against child labour” initiative led by the ILO, including publication of a resource kit produced in collaboration with FIFA and aimed at using football to support work in child labour elimination projects..
In Geneva on June 11 the International Labour Conference will discuss the ILO’s new Global Report on child labour (For more details, please click here). That same day, to mark the World Day hundreds of local school children will participate in a “Children’s solidarity event” at the Place des Nations organized by the “Le Respect, ca change la Vie” community association, in cooperation with the ILO. Children and local civic leaders will gather around a football goal to “go for the goal against child labour” and show the “Red card against child labour”.
The World Day comes one month after more than 450 delegates from 80 countries met at a Conference in The Hague convened by the Government of the Netherlands to agree on a Roadmap to accelerate progress to reach the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016. The Roadmap sets out a number of guiding principles and identifies action to be taken by governments, social partners (workers and employers), civil society, non-governmental and other civil society, regional and international organizations..
Agreement on the Roadmap came as the ILO’s third Global Report on child labour warned that the global campaign against child labour is at a critical juncture. The Report shows that global efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour are losing momentum, and warns that unless they are significantly stepped up the 2016 target will not be reached.
This target was set in 2006 after positive trends contained in the previous Global Report suggested that the elimination of the worst forms of child labour was possible by 2016.
At the invitation of the President of India, Smt. Prathiba Devisingh Patil, the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, is paying a State Visit to India from 8th – 11th June 2010. The President is accompanied by Mrs. Shiranthi Rajapaksa.
The President of Sri Lanka was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapathi Bhavan on 9th June 2010. During the visit, the President of Sri Lanka was received by the President of India, who hosted a banquet in his honour.
Finance Minister Shri. Pranab Mukherjee, External Affairs Minister Shri. S.M. Krishna, Leader of Opposition Smt. Sushma Swaraj and Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance Smt. Sonia Gandhi called on President Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The President of Sri Lanka had a meeting with the Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, on 9th June 2010, which was followed by delegation level talks.
The official discussions between the two sides were marked by friendship, mutual respect and understanding. The President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of India agreed that the shared cultural and civilizational heritage of India and Sri Lanka and the extensive people-to-people interaction provided the foundation to build a vibrant and multi-faceted partnership. India-Sri Lanka relations have matured and diversified with the passage of time, encompassing all areas of contemporary relevance, including trade, services and investment, development cooperation, science and technology, culture and education.
In consonance with their vision of the future of the India-Sri Lanka relations, the two leaders agreed to further harness the enormous potential available for consolidating and strengthening the bilateral partnership by building on shared values and principles of democracy and pluralism, leveraging common strategic concerns and interests, enhancing connectivity between the two countries, increasing the integration of their economies, and reinforcing the institutional framework for cooperation.
The Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, congratulated the President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa, on his recent electoral victories and conveyed that the recent elections, together with the cessation of hostilities in Sri Lanka in May 2009, provided a historic opportunity for the country’s leaders to address all outstanding issues in a spirit of understanding and mutual accommodation and to work towards genuine national reconciliation. The Prime Minister emphasised that a meaningful devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, would create the necessary conditions for a lasting political settlement. The President of Sri Lanka reiterated his determination to evolve a political settlement acceptable to all communities that would act as a catalyst to create the necessary conditions in which all the people of Sri Lanka could lead their lives in an atmosphere of peace, justice and dignity, consistent with democracy, pluralism, equal opportunity and respect for human rights. Towards this end, the President expressed his resolve to continue to implement in particular the relevant provisions of the Constitution designed to strengthen national amity and reconciliation through empowerment. In this context, he shared his ideas on conducting a broader dialogue with all parties involved. The Prime Minister of India expressed India’s constructive support for efforts that build peace and reconciliation among all communities in Sri Lanka.
The President of Sri Lanka expressed appreciation for India’s substantial and generous assistance including through a grant of Indian Rupees 500 crorefor the humanitarian relief, rehabilitation and resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). He noted that the steps taken by India for humanitarian assistance, including supply of family packs of food and clothing, medicines, setting up of a field hospital and an artificial limb fitment camp and for the resettlement of IDPs, including provision of shelter material, cement bags and agricultural implements and deployment of de-mining teams, were important and timely.
The Prime Minister of India was appraised on the measures taken by the Government of Sri Lanka to bring about a rapid and sustainable resettlement of the bulk of the IDPs. It was stated that the process of resettling the limited number still remaining in the transit facilities would be further expedited. Both leaders agreed on the urgent need for the resettlement of the remaining IDPs, along with speedy rehabilitation, reconstruction and development in the North and the East of Sri Lanka. They agreed to work closely towards this end. In this context, India’s assistance to rebuild infrastructure, including railway infrastructure, set up several Vocational Training Centres, repair and construct schools, houses, stadium and recreational facilities, supply much-needed inputs for agricultural regeneration and undertake several other projects was greatly appreciated.
Both leaders announced a major initiative to undertake a programme of construction of 50,000 houses for Internally Displaced Persons in the Northern and Eastern Provinces. The President of Sri Lanka warmly welcomed the offer of Indian support for this programme.
With regard to the task of reconstruction in northern Sri Lanka, the Prime Minister of India reiterated India’s support for various infrastructure projects. In this regard, the two leaders witnessed the signing of the contract for the reconstruction of the Madu-Talaimannar railway line by IRCON. The contract for the Medawachchiya-Madu segment of the track will be signed shortly. It was also noted that the contract for the reconstruction of the Omanthai-Pallai segment of the railway track by IRCON has already been signed. The two leaders directed that the contracts for the construction of a new signalling and tele-communication network by IRCON, and for the reconstruction of the Pallai-KKS railway line, which will be undertaken by the Sri Lanka Railway in collaboration with IRCON, also be concluded at the earliest. The work on all these construction projects will commence latest by October 2010. It was also noted that the procurement of rolling stock from India would take place in a phased manner. The Prime Minister of India and the President of Sri Lanka directed that a Steering Committee be established to oversee and facilitate the timely and successful completion of the contracted work.
The President of Sri Lanka expressed his appreciation for the generous and concessionary credit facilities amounting to about US$ 800 million offered by India for the railway projects in Sri Lanka. The two leaders directed that the relevant agreements on the lines of credit for requisite amounts be concluded within two months, so that there is no delay in the commencement of the projects.
In addition, with a view to restoring physical and cultural infrastructure and promoting normalcy in northern Sri Lanka, it was also agreed that India would extend assistance for the rehabilitation of Palaly Airport and Kankesanthurai Harbour as also help in renovating the Duraiappah Stadium and constructing a Cultural Centre in Jaffna.
Both leaders welcomed the involvement of Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in addressing the issue of rehabilitation of war widows and witnessed the signing of the MoU on Setting Up of Women’s Trade Facilitation Centre and Community Learning Centre at Batticaloa.
Both leaders expressed satisfaction at the progress of work on the Colombo-Matara railway line being constructed with Indian assistance, and directed that the project be completed in a timely manner.
The two leaders witnessed the signing of the MoU on Small Development Project Scheme.
The Prime Minister of India and the President of Sri Lanka reiterated their mutual commitment to substantially enhance the range and depth of the India-Sri Lanka bilateral relationship including through greater economic integration, enhancing connectivity and other linkages and closer developmental cooperation.
In this context, both leaders agreed to revive the Joint Commission mechanism and hold the next meeting of the Joint Commission, co-chaired by the two Ministers of External Affairs, in the second half of 2010 in order to devise a fuller agenda of bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Both leaders agreed to promote dialogue on security and defence issues of relevance to their bilateral relationship, and enhance high-level military exchanges and training of military personnel as well as impart additional training in Indian institutions for the newly recruited police personnel. They agreed to institute an annual defence dialogue between the two governments.
Both leaders condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. They also agreed to strengthen the security and legal framework of their bilateral relationship. To this end, the leaders witnessed the signing of the following Agreements:
Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters; and
Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners.
Both leaders underlined their desire for closer economic integration to achieve the shared goals of alleviating poverty, creating wealth and bringing about progress and prosperity for the people of the two countries. In this context, they agreed to cooperate closely to nurture a favourable environment to forge closer economic and trade linkages.
Both leaders expressed satisfaction that bilateral trade, despite the downturn in 2009 as a result of the global economic slowdown, was already beginning to show a healthy recovery.
Recognizing the considerable benefits from greater economic cooperation between the two countries, the two Leaders noted the progress achieved under the India – Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. Theyagreed that it would be timely to build on this achievement through a more comprehensive framework of economic cooperation, best suited to the two countries. In this context, they directed the concerned officials of the two countries to hold intensive consultations towards developing a framework for sustainable economic partnership between the two countries and addressing outstanding issues.
The two leaders also agreed to launch a CEOs Forum to involve the public and private sectors in a dialogue to generate ideas to deepen and broaden the bilateral economic relationship in all its aspects and to help chart the future course of business and trade interaction between the two countries.
The Prime Minister of India and the President of Sri Lanka agreed that there was great potential for the further and rapid expansion of bilateral agricultural cooperation and collaboration in livestock development between the two countries. They noted that the MoU for Scientific and Technical cooperation between the Indian Council of Agriculture Research and the Sri Lanka Council for Agriculture Research Policy had yielded sound results, including in human resource development. They agreed that collaborative research and development programmes in areas such as livestock, biotechnology, the design and manufacture of agricultural and farm machinery and equipment, hybrid seed development and post harvest processing of perishable products, fruits and vegetables would further contribute to agricultural cooperation. The concerned authorities of the two countries would also cooperate in the area of weather forecasting. Towards this end, the two leaders resolved that the two countries should finalize at the earliest possible an Agreement providing for comprehensive cooperation in Agriculture.
The two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation in the energy sector. In this connection, they welcomed greater cooperation between the public and private sector entities and emphasised the need to cooperate further.
The two leaders were briefed on the progress in discussions between the National Thermal Power Corporation of India and the Ceylon Electricity Board of Sri Lanka on the establishment of a joint venture for building a 500 MW coal-fired power plant at Sampur (Trincomalee), incorporating environmentally friendly technologies, with the Government of Sri Lanka providing the requisite infrastructure support. The concerned parties have agreed to complete their discussions on the Joint Venture Agreement, the Power Purchase Agreement, the Agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, the Implementation Agreement and other relevant arrangements within three months, so that the work on the project can commence without delay. The Sri Lankan side expressed its appreciation for the further concessionary line of credit of US$ 200 million afforded by the Government of India, to enable the Government of Sri Lanka to fulfil its commitments under the Implementation Agreement, including with regard to the construction of a jetty at Sampur and of transmission lines from Sampur to Habarana as also the initial equity of the Ceylon Electricity Board (under the Joint Venture Agreement).
An agreement on conducting a feasibility study for the interconnection of the Indian and Sri Lankan electricity grids was also signed on this occasion. The two leaders expressed their confidence that the agreement would make a significant contribution to enhancing India-Sri Lanka cooperation in the energy sector.
Recognising the need to speedily restore the traditional links between the two countries, both leaders agreed to resume the ferry services between Colombo and Tuticorin and between Talaimannar and Rameswaram. They directed their respective officials to put in place the mechanisms to start these services at an early date.
The two leaders agreed on establishing the Consulates General of India in Jaffna and in Hambantota to reinforce consular cooperation and friendly links between the two countries. The Prime Minister of India welcomed in this regard Sri Lanka’s interest in establishing a further Post in India, in addition to those in Chennai and in Mumbai functioning under the High Commission in New Delhi.
The Prime Minister of India and the President of Sri Lanka expressed satisfaction that the Joint Statement on Fishing Arrangements of October 2008, which sought to put in place practical arrangements to deal with bonafide fishermen crossing the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL), had led to a decrease in incidents. Both sides agreed to explore ways to strengthen the safety and security of fishermen and, in this context, directed their respective officials to revive the meetings of the bilateral Joint Working Group on Fishing. It was also decided to enhance and promote contacts between the fishermen’s associations on both sides.
The President of Sri Lanka proposed discussions on the matter of establishing a joint information mechanism on the possibility of oil and gas fields straddling the India Sri Lanka Maritime Boundary. The Prime Minister of India assured the President of Sri Lanka that this proposal would receive the Government of India’s attention and the matter could be discussed further between the two sides.
Recognising that the shared cultural and civilizational links provided the bedrock of bilateral relations, the two leaders agreed that the 2600th year of the attainment of enlightenment by Lord Buddha (Sambuddhatva Jayanthi) will be commemorated through joint activities. They noted with appreciation that an International Buddhist Conference will be organized in Kandy later this year with the support of the Indian Council of Cultural Relations.
Both leaders also welcomed the proposal for the restoration of Tiruketheeswaram temple at Mannar to be undertaken with the assistance ofthe Archaeological Survey of India and the College of Architecture and Sculpture, Mamallapuram, with the involvement of the Department of Archaeology of Sri Lanka.
The Prime Minister of India and the President of Sri Lanka also witnessed the signature of the Programme for Cultural Cooperation for the period 2010-2013.
Recognising the immense potential that exists in the two countries to tap knowledge as a key driver of economic and social advancement, the two leaders agreed that both countries should enhance links in the educational sector as a core component of their bilateral engagement. In this context, the two leaders announced the launching of an “India-Sri Lanka Knowledge Initiative”.
Under this Initiative, the two leaders welcomed the proposal of the University of Colombo to establish a Centre for Contemporary Indian Studies with the support of the Government of India.
The two leaders further welcomed the recent inauguration in Kandy of the Sri Lanka-India Centre for English Language Training (SLICELT) as part of the President’s Initiative on English and Information Technology. A distance learning network linking the English and Foreign Language University, Hyderabad and SLICELT will be established to enable training of master trainers and teachers in Sri Lanka and upgrading their skills. It was agreed to expand SLICELT further by establishing provincial and regional centres with Indian assistance.
The other elements of the Knowledge Initiative agreed upon by the two leaders include the following:
India announced an expansion of its scholarship programmes in Sri Lanka, including increasing their numbers, introducing new scholarship schemes, addressing special needs of Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka and upcountry areas and ensuring wider outreach throughout the country.
Both sides agreed to promote linkages between Indian and Sri Lankan universities and institutions of higher learning.
India responded positively to the request of Sri Lanka to extend technical assistance to the Ten Year Presidential Initiative to steer Sri Lanka towards a Trilingual Society by 2020.
Both sides agreed to collaborate in the establishment of a research institute on agriculture in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
Both leaders agreed to promote the use of space technology for a variety of societal services using Indian satellites. For this purpose, the Indian side will extend bandwidth to set up satellite-interactive terminals in Sri Lanka.
Welcoming the growing connectivity between the two countries, the two leaders called for greater cooperation in tourism and promotion of people-to-people contacts, especially between the youth of India and Sri Lanka.
The leaders reiterated the importance of continuing to work together in the regional and international fora given their increasing convergence of views on a range of issues.
Recalling the deliberations at the 16th SAARC Summit in Thimphu, the two leaders agreed to work towards the full realization of the vision of the Thimphu Silver Jubilee Declaration.
The two sides also agreed that current global challenges require the reinvigoration of multilateralism, including through the strengthening of the UN system. In this context, Sri Lanka reiterated its position that the UN Security Council reform process should facilitate India’s legitimate claim for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council and reaffirmed her support for the candidature of India as a permanent member of an expanded UN Security Council. Sri Lanka’s support to India’s candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2011-12 was also reiterated.
Both leaders expressed their satisfaction at the outcome of the State Visit by the President of Sri Lanka to India, which provided further testimony to the continuing excellent relations between the two countries. The President of Sri Lanka also invited the President of India and the Prime Minister of India to pay early visits to Sri Lanka. The invitations were accepted with appreciation.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has received information about various efforts to mislead the public about the security features of the Rs. 1000 note issued to commemorate ushering of peace and prosperity to Sri Lanka.
The Central Bank has educated the public earlier through print and electronic media about the security features of this note. It contains all security features that are included in other circulation notes. The general public is requested not to be misled by the false information that undermines the security features of this note.
The Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka has decided to establish a new guarantee scheme in respect of loan facilities provided by banking institutions to Registered Finance Companies (RFCs) and Specialized Leasing Companies (SLCs), in instances where RFCs and SLCs face unforeseen liquidity constraints. In providing these guarantees, the Central Bank will assess the need for such guarantees for the applicant RFC or SLC and the quality of assets mortgaged or assigned in respect of obtaining a loan facility. The Central Bank will also adopt expeditious procedures and impose certain conditions in respect of providing guarantee facilities under this arrangement.
Some RFCs and SLCs have been facing liquidity constraints since early 2009 due to a decline in inflow of new funds and the reluctance of some banking institutions to provide loan facilities to those companies. As a result of this new scheme, such RFCs and SLCs will now be able to obtain loan facilities from banking institutions against their assets to enhance their liquidity position and to conduct their normal business operations.
The guaranteeing of bank loans by the Central Bank will benefit banking institutions too as they could extend their facilities at a lower credit risk and as it will enable them to diversify their portfolios.
The Central Bank expects that this scheme will enhance inflow of funds to vulnerable RFCs and SLCs and relieve the liquidity constraints within a short period of time thereby enabling them to carry on their normal businesses and to contribute to the economic growth in the country.
CBSL – Press Release
December, 16. 2009
December 16, 2009 at 5:23 pm
JOINT PRESS COMMUNIQUÉ
issued on the occasion of the State Visit of
His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
from 22nd to 24th October 2009
His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka undertook a State Visit to the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam from 22nd to 24th October 2009 at the invitation of His Excellency Nguyen Minh Triet, President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The President was accompanied by Hon. Rohitha Bogollagama, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of Export Development and International Trade, Hon. Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Minister of Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion, Hon. Alewi Mowlana, Governor, Western Province, senior officials and a group of business personnel.
The President of Sri Lanka was accorded an official welcome at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on 22 October 2009. His Excellency Nguyen Minh Triet held official discussions and hosted a State Banquet in his honour. H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa also met with H.E. Nong Duc Manh, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and H.E. Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of Viet Nam. During his stay in Hanoi, H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa placed a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in honour of the great leader of Viet Nam.
The bilateral discussions were held in an atmosphere of friendship, warmth and close understanding. The Heads of State noted the excellent state of the relations between Viet Nam and Sri Lanka. The President of Viet Nam congratulated President Mahinda Rajapaksa on the defeat of the LTTE in Sri Lanka and reaffirmed Viet Nam’s support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. President Nguyen Minh Triet expressed support for President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s efforts to build a peaceful and prosperous nation. In response to Sri Lanka President’s request for assistance in clearing mined areas in the Northern province of Sri Lanka, the Vietnamese side agreed to consider cooperation with Sri Lanka in demining process.
H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa thanked the President and the Government of Viet Nam for their steadfast support to combat the LTTE in Sri Lanka, and in this context, for extending support to Sri Lanka at the UN Security Council and the Human Rights Council.
The two leaders also exchanged views on a number of regional and multilateral issues ofmutual concern and agreed to continue to work together for the mutual benefit of the two countries based on the principle of non interference.
The President of Sri Lanka congratulated Viet Nam for her impressive economic development recorded during the renovation process and expressed Sri Lanka’s felicitations for Viet Nam’s achievements in foreign affairs, including its successful assumption of the role as a non permanent member of the UN Security Council and its forthcoming ascend to the Chairmanship of ASEAN in 2010.
The President of Viet Nam felicitated the President of Sri Lanka for the important contribution made by Sri Lanka as Chair of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) and G-15, and as a member of ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).
The discussions covered a wide range of matters of mutual interest which included trade and investment promotion, agriculture, cultural cooperation, air services and defence and transnational crime prevention. Both leaders agreed to encourage bilateral trade and set the target of 100 million US$ for two-way trade volume by the year 2012.
The two leaders welcomed the successful conclusion of the Second Session of the Joint Commission between the two countries which was held in August 2009 in Sri Lanka. The Joint Commission was recognized as an effective mechanism to further enhance bilateral relations between the two countries in many spheres of cooperation.
The Viet Nam President announced his country’s decision to reopena resident Embassy in Colombo. The President of Sri Lanka welcomed this announcement and expressed confidence that a resident Vietnamese Mission in Colombo would help to further strengthen the friendship between the two countries in developing a comprehensive partnership with Viet Nam.
At the conclusion of the officials talks between the two Presidents, a number of agreements were signed between the two countries, that included:
i. Agreement between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on Protection and Promotion of Investments;
ii. Cooperation Agreement between the Ministry of Defence, Public Security, Law & Order of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Public Security of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on Preventing and Combating Crimes;
iii. Work Plan for the year 2010-2011 on Agriculture Development Cooperation between the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Agrarian Services of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Viet Nam
iv. Agreement on the Work plan for the year 2010 – 2013 between the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam on the field of Fisheries Cooperation;
v. Memorandum of Understanding on Cultural Cooperation between and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and National Heritage of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of Viet Nam;
The President and the Sri Lanka delegation also visited Ho Chi Minh City, the main commercial centre of Viet Nam and werereceived by H.E. Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.
The president of Sri Lanka inaugurated the Viet Nam – Sri Lanka Business Forum which was jointly organized by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Foreign Investment Agency of the Ministry of Planning and Investments together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka in Ho Chi Minh City. The Business Forum was attended by business leaders of the two countries together with dignitaries of the two Governments. The Forum acknowledged the increase of the trade volume between the two countries.
H.E. Mahinda Rajapaksa extended an invitation to H.E. Nguyen Minh Triet, President of Viet Nam to undertake a State Visit to Sri Lanka in a convenient time. President Nguyen Minh Triet accepted the invitation with pleasure. The specific dates for the visit would be discussed through diplomatic channels.
Sri Lanka will become the global buzz on environmental issues when the 18th APFEJ World Congress of Environmental Journalists ceremonially begins on October 19, around 100 journalists and other environmentally-concerned officials and private individuals expected to be flying in from 30 countries world over.
The three-day Congress, hosted at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo, will create a rare converging hub for environmental journalists authors and scientists across the globe.
The Congress is jointly organized by Asia – Pacific Forum of Environmental Journalists (APFEJ), Commonwealth Environmental Journalists Association (CEJA) and is hosted by the Sri Lanka Environmental Journalists Forum (SLEJF).
Last APFEJ Congresses were held in Thailand, Japan, Nepal, Korea, Bangladesh, Fiji, Philippines, China and Malaysia.The 2010 congress will be in Fiji and the 2011 congress is in Kasakastan. Hon. Patali Campika Ranawaka Minister of Environment and Natural Resources , will grace the Inaugural Session of the Congress as the Chief Guest, The congress will rivet round the theme of “Educate to end climate poverty”.
Key Note Presentation will be delivered by HE Dr. Peter Hayes the British High Commissioner, Colombo The inaugural session will reach its zenith when SLEJF present the coveted Sri Lanka best environmental journalists Awards to 8 leading environmental journalists in recognition of their vision and outstanding achievements in environmental reporting.” Selecting winners has been truly inspirational to us, “commented Mr. Wickremaratne who is also the APFEJ’s current director.
The Congress is supported by AUSAID, Global green forum, the British high commission,
Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources as well as other development
agencies with international observers joining in from World Bank, FAO, UNDP and ADB.
Press Release – Central Bank Of Sri Lanka
October 13, 2009
Worldwide inflation is expected to pick up moderately in the ensuing months with the base effects of last year’s high consumer prices driven by the commodity price bubble wearing out, as well as firming demand alongside the nascent recovery in global markets.
Nevertheless, inflation in Sri Lanka is expected to be at subdued levels in the approaching months, with current inflation remaining at around 1 per cent during the four months up to September 2009.
So far during the year, market interest rates have gradually declined in response to the monetary policy relaxation measures of the Central Bank, but are yet to adjust fully to such measures. Benchmark yield rates on Treasury bills have declined significantly by around 800 – 865 basis points since the end of last year, by the first week of October this year.
The Central Bank expects the downward movement of the benchmark yield rates to permeate to other market interest rates over the coming weeks, further reducing the borrowing costs of economic agents. This, together with the improved outlook for economic activity, is expected to underpin an expansion in credit utilisation of the private sector, thereby supporting enhanced economic performance.
Accordingly, the Monetary Board is of the view that the current levels of policy interest rates do not require any adjustment at the present time, since the policy measures adopted so far are still supportive of the desired outcome of gradual easing of the credit conditions in the country.
The release of the next regular statement on monetary policy will be on 18 November 2009.
