High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

Minister of Sports C B Ratnayake who is currently in India to attend the Commonwealth Games met Minster of Youth Affairs and Sports of India Dr M S Gill recently. High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam and officials of the Ministry of Sports also attended the meeting.

Minister Gill at the outset said he was happy to see a good contingent from Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Games and extended his best wishes for its success. In order to enhance contacts among the youth of the two nations, he expressed the interest to have a youth exchange programme with Sri Lanka. India already has such programmes with a number of other countries. He informed that the Sports Authority of India is a very strong organization with which Sri Lanka could closely collaborate. Minister Gill indicated that Sri Lankans could also benefit from the Sports University of India which offers both undergraduate and post graduate degrees in Sports.

Minister Ratnayake congratulated India for the successful Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games and said that Sri Lanka is proud of India’s success. The Ministry of Sports of Sri Lanka looks forward to have a greater cooperation with India. He requested India’s assistance in several fields. It was agreed that a team of officials from both countries would visit each other soon to identify areas of collaboration.

The Nineteenth Commonwealth Games began at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on 3 October 2010 in a colourful and spectacular Opening Ceremony. The Games were declared open by Prince Charles of Britain and President Pratibha Patil of India. Minister of Sports C B Ratnayake represented the Government of Sri Lanka at the Opening Ceremony.

 Ninety four sportspersons from Sri Lanka representing fourteen 14 sports are amongst over 7000 athletes participating in this Game. Minister Ratnayake accompanied by the High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam visited the Games Village on 5 October to meet and encourage the Sri Lankan sportspersons. Minister Ratnayake also participated at the Fifth Commonwealth Sports Ministers’ Meeting that was held in New Delhi on the sidelines of the Commonwealth Games.

The Government and other well-wishers in India are conducting several events to celebrate the spirit of the Commonwealth Games and cultural events to showcase India and participating Commonwealth nations as well. The renowned Chitrasena Vajira dance troupe of Sri Lanka has been invited by Indian authorities to perform at one such event ‘International Festival of Dance and Music’ at Dilli Haat, Pitampura, New Delhi.

Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake who is on an official visit to India met on 28 September the Minister of Human Resource Development of India Kapil  Sibal. High Commissioner Prasad Kariyawasam was also associated at the meeting.  
 
The two Ministers discussed during their meeting bilateral cooperation in the education sector. Minister Dissanayake explained to Minister Sibal of the steps being taken by the Government of Sri Lanka for the modernization of higher education system in Sri Lanka.
 
He disclosed that beginning from 2012 the Government of Sri Lanka will offer 200 scholarships to students from Asia to study in Universities in Sri Lanka and about 40% of these scholarships would be granted to Indian students in promoting student exchange.
 
Stressing the need to revive the education facilities in the North and the East which were affected due to terrorism, Minister Dissanayake sought Indian assistance to set up a faculty of Engineering and to augment the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Jaffna. He also explored the possibility of getting prominent Indian Professors and Senior Lecturers to undertake teaching assignments at Sri Lankan Universities during their sabbatical leave. The two Ministers also discussed the possibility of training opportunities for Sri Lankan University lecturers in India.
 
With a view to agreeing on the proposed Programme of Action, Minister Dissanayake extended an invitation to Minister Sibal to visit Sri Lanka at a mutually convenient date later in the year.

‘International Humanitarian Law should reflect reality of non-state actors in conflicts’

 The entire focus of our nation, is now on building a lasting peace; healing wounds, ensuring economic prosperity and guaranteeing the rights of the whole nation to live in harmony, stated President Mahinda Rajapaksa addressing the United Nations General Assembly at the UN Headquarters in New York today (Sep 23).

 We are pursuing a nation-wide agenda of renewal. Sri Lanka has already returned over 90% of the internally displaced persons to their original villages that were previously riddled with landmines, he further said.

 A great deal has been said by those beyond our borders about our Tamil community. Let me be clear, no nation on earth can wish Sri Lanka’s Tamil community more good fortune than Sri Lanka itself, President Rajapaksa emphasized.

Following are some highlights of the speech:

To the mis-guided few, I say, do not allow yourselves to become an instrument of division, hate and violence, to be used as an enabler for hatred to be reborn in another form. Rather come, let us join hands and break the bonds of mis-trust to rise to new horizons

Sri Lanka recognises the challenges we face, among the greatest of which is healing the wounds of the recent past. To this end, earlier this year, a Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission has been established, giving full expression to the principles of accountability.

We believe that for the rebuilding and healing of our nation to succeed, the process must evolve from within.

If history has taught us one thing, it is that imposed external solutions breed resentment and ultimately fail.

Our economy is well on the way to realising the dividend of peace. We are experiencing steady and sustained growth including during the last quarter of over eight per cent, moderate inflation and low interest rates.

We certainly welcome the support of the international community as we rebuild our lands and our economy. We sincerely hope that they will be prepared to take a practical approach to developing partnerships with Sri Lanka through international trade, investment and capacity building.