(Sinhala) (Tamil)

British Conservative peer Lord Naseby, an ardent supporter of Sri Lanka has described the electoral outcome here as “a sea change never before witnessed; I for one recognise it – so too should the UK Government and the factions of the diaspora in the UK and elsewhere”

Lord Naseby, who is also the President and founder of the All Party British Sri Lanka Parliamentary Group in the UK said:

‘This is a truly remarkable result; yet again the ordinary people of Sri Lanka have turned out to vote at a level rarely seen anywhere in the World. This is true democracy at work. It would seem that the old order of the UNP and the SLFP have been consigned to history. In their place are the SLPP (Sri Lanka Podujana Peruma)- the party of the Rajapaksa brothers who now dominate Parliament, and, a new, much smaller Opposition Party, headed by the young Sajith Premadasa, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya. 

This is a new dawn for Sri Lanka, a fresh era creating the opportunity for the country to come together and finally put to bed the idea of any Tamil Eelam independence movement.

 Now is the time for the West to understand the new mood in Sri Lanka; the desire on all sides for reconciliation to become realistic without any interference from the West or the UN Human Rights Council.

Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha said that the investment environment in Sri Lanka for Indian investors is conducive not only because of its stable leadership but also due to the strong bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and India. This was consolidated on following the early visits of the President, Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to India where areas of cooperation was fully reviewed.

Addressing the webinar ‘Deepening Economic Collaboration between India and Sri Lanka’, organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) jointly with the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies, Sri Lanka (LKI), on 21 July 2020, Foreign Secretary Aryasinha said, “India is among the top 5 foreign investors in Sri Lanka. The government is committed to facilitating, protecting and promoting the liberal investment climate in Sri Lanka by continuing to realign the systems and procedures to suit modern business needs. The prospective investors are encouraged to take advantage of these untouched investment opportunities in the island.”

Highlighting the potential areas of investment in Sri Lanka, he said that the government is targeting more investment in high value products. “India is strong in sectors like textiles, IT, agribusiness and the private sector of our two countries can explore collaboration related to investment, technology transfer in these sectors,” the Foreign Secretary added.