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Annual partnership dialogue with US
The United States and Sri Lanka agreed yesterday to establish an annual partnership dialogue. “I have asked teams from our government to mobilise quickly to provide assistance (to Sri Lanka),” the visiting US Secretary of State John Kerry declared. He said officials of the US Treasury and Commerce Departments would come to Colombo soon to work with the Sri Lankan Government on economic measures that could be taken for greater investment and greater growth.
Mr. Kerry made these announcements when he made a statement to the media after talks with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera.Mr. Kerry in a separate public address said yesterday: “We are also ready to help on asset recovery and enforcement of the corruption rules. Our investigators are prepared to work with your investigators. Our prosecutors are prepared to work with your prosecutors. Any stolen assets in the US will be returned to their rightful owners.”He gave this assurance at a public lecture organised by the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies.
Yesterday evening Secretary Kerry held a media briefing where he reiterated the commitment of the US Government to work closely with Sri Lanka.
He said that the Sri Lanka Government had extended an invitation to US President Obama to visit Sri Lanka. Today Secretary Kerry will meet with a six member delegation from the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which will include TNA leader MP R .Sampanthan and Northern Province Chief Minister C.V. Wigneswaran. He is scheduled to leave Sri Lanka around noon today for Kenya.
In his statement to the media after the meeting with Minister Samaraweera, Mr. Kerry, the first US Secretary of State to make an official visit to Sri Lanka in nearly 43 years, also praised the Government for the passage of the 19th Amendment, for progress in combating corruption and reconciliation efforts.
“One thing about this Sri Lankan Government seems clear. The President, the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister are not afraid of tackling tough issues. They are willing to make difficult decisions and they are committed to keeping their promises. We have seen that in the 100-day plan,” Mr. Kerry said in a brief statement to the media.
He also commended the Government and the people of Sri Lanka for quickly sending response teams to earthquake-struck Nepal saying it’s an “indication of the sensitivity of this government, its sense of responsibility and its desire to be a part of the world community.”
Secretary Kerry said: “Tragedies like the Asian tsunami or the Nepal earthquake underscore our need to work together and support each other not only in times of crisis but also in times of opportunity and this is the time of opportunity for Sri Lanka.” Mr. Kerry who arrived in Sri Lanka around 7 a.m yesterday called on President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The Secretary of State said he was aware of the tremendous amount of work that lay ahead for Sri Lanka. “You are working on creating an enduring peace. And you are working on creating prosperity for all your people. Many challenges and difficult decisions obviously lie ahead,” he said. “The American people will stand with Sri Lankans in their journey to restore democracy and the US intends to broaden and deepen the partnership with Sri Lanka.”
Mr. Kerry also said US President Barak Obama had recently nominated one of the country’s most talented Foreign Service officers, Atul Keshap, to be the new US ambassador to Sri Lanka
Minister Samaraweera said the first visit by a US Secretary of State in nearly half a century signified the return of Sri Lanka to the centre stage of international affairs. “Relations between our two countries have existed since the adoption of the US Constitution, at which time records show that sailors from New England were anchored in the Galle Harbour. American missionaries, including Sir Henry Olcott, who jointly designed the Buddhist flag flown during Vesak, played a vital role in founding and nurturing some of our best schools both in the North and the South,” he said.
Mr. Samaraweera said Sri Lanka was well on its way to becoming a fully-fledged Parliamentary democracy, laying the foundations for a new Sri Lanka, built on the pillars of democracy and ethnic harmony. “Ensuring accountability in the new Sri Lanka will be a key component of the reconciliation process, and the structure of a domestic accountability mechanism with international technical assistance as promised in our manifesto is now being planned,” he added.
Mr. Samaraweera said Sri Lanka, now a middle-income country, could no longer afford to rely solely on foreign aid. “It is in our government’s best interest to attract foreign direct investment as part of a broader strategy to kick-start the economy. Sri Lanka has been considered a paradise for tourists for many years, but our government is now also keen to make Sri Lanka an investor’s paradise. I hope that American investors will take advantage of the many new economic opportunities now opening up in Sri Lanka,” he said.