India’s role vital for Lanka: Govt.

Saturday, 09 July 2011 By Yohan Perera
The government yesterday said Sri Lanka would not be able to achieve its development goals without India which was going to play a vital role in achieving such targets.
Speaking during an adjournment debate, External Affairs Minister G. L. Peiris told Parliament that no country could formulate its economic development goals in isolation. Therefore he pointed out that it is vital for Sri Lanka to work with the neighbouring countries to achieve its economic goals.
Prof. Peiris said Sri Lanka would not be able to achieve its set target of becoming a shipping hub in South Asia without the support of India. Therefore he said the shipping industry in Sri Lanka was vastly dependent on India as 70 percent of container transshipment that reach the Colombo Port is from that country.
He also said the Colombo Dockyard had managed to secure a massive order from an Indian company to build 11 vessels.
Dockyard will gross a revenue of US $ 240 million out of this order alone, he told the House.
The Minister further stated that India was one of the biggest tourism markets which Sri Lanka was looking to and thereby pointed out that 25 percent of tourists that visit Sri Lanka would be from India by 2015. He said the situation was the same when it came to people to people contacts and thereby said a programme would be launched soon to enable low income groups to visit India on pilgrimages by train.
Minister Peiris also pointed out that the allegation made by the opposition with regard to the joint statement issued by India and Sri Lanka was false. He said there was no signing of a pact as it was only a media statement. This was released at the end of the minister’s visit to India recently.
“The outpouring of venom by the opposition on India is totally unnecessary,” he said adding that 43,000 houses out of 50,000 which India had offered to build would be ready soon.
However Prof. Peiris said the government was not afraid of raising its voice whenever necessary, referring to the fishermen’s issue.