Excellency
Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic
of Maldives, and Madam Gayoom,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies & Gentlemen,
I am deeply touched by the attention
bestowed upon me and my wife and my delegation by Your
Excellency and the friendly people of Maldives. I must
express my deep appreciation of the warmth of your welcome
on the occasion of my first state visit as the President
of Sri Lanka, to your beautiful
country.
There are many similarities that
unite our two nations, apart from being located in the
great Indian Ocean. We both are proud inheritors of
rich cultural traditions which date back to more than
two millennia. We also have many similarities in our
languages.
I would like to emphasize that our
ties are becoming stronger, not only through membership
of SAARC, the Non-aligned movement and diplomatic ties,
but also through our common desire to develop our most
valued resource, the people. We are also committed to
progress on trade and commerce - thus
working towards bringing economic development and lasting
prosperity to our nations.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Globalization provides us with both
opportunities and challenges in our pursuit of development.
Our approach to economic development must be modern,
focused and in tune with the global trends. Therefore,
while further developing existing relations, we need
to be creative in forging new avenues
of cooperation.
Sri Lanka exports fresh fruits, vegetables
and other agricultural products as well as processed
food items and tea, textiles and clothing and ceramic
and plastics products.
In 2005, our exports stood at US
dollars 24.76 million and the imports as dollars 21.09
million. As per the current trade agreement between
our two countries, which gives MFN treatment for trading
goods, we should find ways and means to increase the
volume of trade by expanding our product base to
include non-traditional items.
Sri Lanka has always been proud of
its skilled work force. We have the potential, in our
skilled work force, to fulfill the much-needed skilled
manpower Maldives demands, especially in the hospitality
trade.
The policy of my Government is to
integrate the positive aspects of free market economy
with our own aspirations. We are committed to rural
development and a revival of the glory in our villages.
We need to work at this harder. When we look in the
direction of other Asian countries that were lagging
behind us at the time of independence, we see that they
have overtaken us in reaching a remarkable level of
development.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Our two countries and the Region
have a bright future. Despite all odds, our two countries
have achieved remarkable levels in human development
factors. We were able to achieve this because in the
past, we made these goals our priority, in our plans
for our countries. We, however, cannot be complacent
with our past achievements.
Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen,
If we want our future to be bright,
we must have a clear and definite plan for our development
needs, the knowledge of what we want to achieve and
unwavering enthusiasm and desire to achieve our goals.
It is my unwavering vision, to once again be the epicenter
of the Asian Silk Route and I strong
believe in its realization.
For this purpose, I have always emphasized
the importance of further strengthening of our bilateral
ties through some of the existing bilateral mechanisms
such as the Joint Commission, and the Joint Task Force
on Tourism. Some of them need to be revived.
The recently established, more comprehensive
Joint Commission between our two countries is a welcome
step towards further enhancement of bilateral ties in
the fields of economic, trade, education, immigration
and emigration, tourism, fisheries, culture, history
and arts and health.
I sincerely wish that this Joint
Commission would continue with vigour to achieve its
intended goals. We are looking forward to hosting the
next biennial session of the Joint Commission in Colombo
2008.
Speaking of tourism, which is of
utmost importance to both our countries, I would suggest
that we launch a regional concerted effort to harness
our collective resources to improve tourism. Our region
has the potential to attract tourists, not only from
other parts of the world, but also from our own region.
Sri Lanka is keen to develop intra regional tourism.
The historical relations among us, and the diversity
of the region and the people will, no doubt, act as
a catalyst in this respect.
Ladies and gentlemen,
In the recent past, intensive interactions
between our business communities resulted in significant
investments in each other's economy, particularly in
the areas of hospitality trade, gem and jewellery, garments
and the financial services. Further, the business communities
of both our countries are looking forward to venturing
into new areas of cooperation for further strengthening
of the existing economic relations. Sri Lanka is also
keen to implement an Investment Protection Agreement
(IPA) between our two countries.
Technology and communication go hand
in hand with competitiveness of commerce and trade.
We need to commit ourselves to further develop connectivity
in the region in order to stay competitive.
I welcome the inauguration of Dhiraagu-SLT
optical fibre sub-marine cable system, which is 850
km length, between Sri Lanka and the Maldives. This
aims to enhance economic growth and improve trade relations
via superior telecommunications in South Asia. Apart
from that with India, this project
is only the second such project undertaken by Sri Lanka.
Your Excellency,
Sri Lanka is proud to have been associated
with the development of human resources in the Maldives.
My Government strongly believes that successful economic
development strategy should go hand in hand with improving
the skills of the area's workforce and giving priority
to social development of
our people. In harnessing this vision, Maldives students
gave been given opportunities to study Sri Lankan schools
and Universities.
Sri Lanka recently undertook to build
a Central Library in Male which also stands in testimony
of our abiding friendship.
Your Excellency, Ladies and gentlemen,
Today, no security or prosperity
at home could be realized unless we deal with challenges
of conflict at the correct time. We welcome the reforms
proposed by your Excellency in the direction of participatory
democracy of your country and I sincerely wish that
all obstacles faced by you will be overcome in your
effort to implement the changes.
Sri Lanka and the Maldives are two
of the founding members of SAARC. Our two countries
have expanded their relationship both bilaterally and
within SAARC. We wish to reiterate our firm commitment
towards the SAARC process and to continue to work together
with all the member states of SAARC to achieve the noble
objectives of the Association.
On an occasion, as special as tonight's
I want to underline that our bilateral relations are
in constant evolution. From now on, we need to take
it to greater heights to ensure development of our economies
and generate prosperity. Let us continue with vigour
and earnest effort to work together
to achieve common goals. Let our actions reflect what
we want to achieve in the future.
Your Excellency,
I would like to conclude by expressing
my deep appreciation of all the gestures of friendship
and hospitality extended throughout my visit to the
Maldives. While doing so, may I take the opportunity
to most cordially invite your Excellency to visit Sri
Lanka, so that we can reciprocate your gracious hospitality
and goodwill. Your visit will give further impetus to
our relationship.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me take this opportunity to propose
a toast to the health and the well-being of our gracious
host and the hostess, His Excellency Mr. Maumoon Abdul
Gayoom and Madam Gayoom, and to the friendship between
our two nations!
Let this be a renewed commitment
in our bilateral relations! |
