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Remarks by the High Commissioner at a Reception held at India House on the occasion of India's Republic Day on 26 Jan 2012

Hon’ble Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, Senior Minister of Good Governance & Infrastructure of the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka,

Hon’ble Ministers, Hon’ble Members of Parliament,

Your Excellencies, the Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Colombo,

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Friends,


On the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day of India, it is my honour and privilege to welcome you tonight. I take this opportunity to thank you all for being here with us, particularly our Chief Guest, Hon’ble Minister Wickremanayake.

2.    I would also take this opportunity to wish you all a very happy New Year though we usher in 2012 at a time of profound political and economic uncertainties in the global environment.

3.    Despite these challenges, we are happy that the economies of both India and Sri Lanka are in reasonably good shape. The Sri Lankan GDP grew last year at a very impressive rate of over 8%; the Indian economy is expected to grow by about 7% this financial year ending 31st March. We believe that the India story remains intact, despite occasional discordant notes. Given its economic resilience and strength of its institutions, we expect that India will continue to be one of the key engines of regional and global growth in a time of turbulence. We are keen that India’s growth embraces our friends and neighbours with whom we share special ties of history and intertwined destinies. This particularly applies to Sri Lanka.

4.    Year 2011 was a time of impressive developments in virtually all aspects of our relations with Sri Lanka, whether it be political, trade, investment and tourism, education and culture, developmental partnership, or defence and security.

5.     Indeed, we were at times a little overwhelmed by the pace of events and activities!

6.    Our economic, trade and investment cooperation continued to be on an upswing last year. India again emerged as the largest trading partner of Sri Lanka with an over 70% growth in bilateral trade, a leading investor in this country and also source of the largest number of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka. Going by projects in the pipeline and the number of business queries and trade missions we are receiving, prospects for 2012 are most encouraging.

7.    Our relations have been propelled forward with several high level visits in both directions. Our Minister of External Affairs Hon’ble S.M. Krishna has just concluded a very successful visit to Sri Lanka. We were also fortunate to receive former President of India Hon. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who visited at the invitation of H.E. the President of Sri Lanka. These visits amply illustrated the range and intensity of our relations with Sri Lanka.

8.    Friends, the shared heritage of Buddhism has nurtured our relations for over two and a half millennia. We jointly commemorated the 2600th year of enlightenment by Lord Buddha last year. This common heritage has been highlighted around this pavilion tonight. I am happy to announce the launch of a special train from Chennai by Indian Railways catering to Sri Lankan Buddhist pilgrims called ‘Damba Diwa Vandana’ from next month onwards.

9.    Allow me to touch upon a few other important developments.

10.    I am happy to mention that last year, we substantially stepped up our development cooperation with Sri Lanka. We added a Development Cooperation Wing in our Mission and our partnership projects are being implemented in a timely manner. The railway reconstruction project in the South will be completed on schedule by April this year; the railway project in the North is also on track and is expected to be ready by end-2013.

11.    During the recent visit of our External Affairs Minister, we signed an MoU with the Government of Sri Lanka for the implementation of the next phase of the Housing Project for 49,000 houses under grant assistance of 260 million US Dollars. The pilot phase of the project for 1,000 houses is proceeding well and houses are being handed over to beneficiaries. This is the largest project of its kind being undertaken by us outside India.

12.    With the objective of supporting a knowledge partnership with Sri Lanka, our visiting External Affairs Minister announced in Galle last week a nearly three-fold increase in Indian scholarships for Sri Lankan students under a grant assistance of 2.5 billion Rupees.

13.    Friends, India stands by its commitment to assist Sri Lanka in the task of nation-building, including in the conflict-affected areas. We believe that the end of the armed conflict presents an unparalleled opportunity to build a better future for all the people of Sri Lanka. We believe that the constructive recommendations contained in the report of the Government-appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, when implemented, would mark a major step forward in this direction. India will continue to support all initiatives to move towards a genuine national reconciliation in this beautiful island nation with which we share very special bonds of friendship.

14.    I am happy to mention that the renowned Kathak dancer Aditi Mangaldas and her troupe will present a short but very special dance performance for you this evening.

15.    Before I conclude, I would like to say that while we look back on the year gone by with pride for all our achievements in bilateral relations, year 2012 brings renewed confidence that we will be able to take India-Sri Lanka ties to new heights. I and my colleagues are deeply grateful for the warmth and friendship extended by the Government and the people of Sri Lanka. Once again, I thank all of you for having joined us this evening.

Ladies and Gentlemen, may I now invite you to join me in raising a toast to:

His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka;

The health, happiness and prosperity of the people of Sri Lanka; and

The continued development of strong fraternal ties between India and Sri Lanka.

[Toast is raised]

Thank you.