Anti-Indian political parties in Sri Lanka JVP/JHU & NFF organizing protests against India, I will post the pictures in the future.
We can see some nice events near Indian embassy in Colombo soon
Anyway this is a direct statement from Sri Lankan PM – Head of the Sri Lankan Government & his powers only second to Sri Lankan President
Looks like our PM also not views India as a friend
Be it LTTE,bla,mukti bhani or maoist....... they train em.
But dont worry we will send our guys to wipe these ltte dogs just like we did in the past to help our lankan brothers.
This is what Sri Lanka govt's Ministry of external affairs says about bilateral relation I don't see they are talking about Pakistan.....
Bilateral and Regional Perspective - The home of Sri Lanka Ministry of External Affairs Website
Sri Lanka has attached the greatest importance to strengthening relations with her neighbours and in playing a lead role in fostering greater regional cooperation through SAARC. In particular, India and Sri Lanka have embarked on measures to build an enduring relationship. Sri Lanka’s bilateral relations have been further strengthened in the recent past with Presidential State Visits to neighbouring countries. Within the SAARC forum, Sri Lanka has played a leading role in urging greater momentum particularly in enhancing economic cooperation, in facilitating greater people-to-people contact within the region while at the same time urging SAARC’s stronger bonding with other regional groups like ASEAN and the EU.
While consolidating the traditional bonds of friendship that had existed with China, Japan and South Korea, Sri Lanka has paid special attention to evolving a more productive relationship with the Southeast Asian region. Former President Kumaratunga and the late Foreign Minister Kadirgamar paid visits to several of these countries and these visits in addition to their important political dimension have paid rich economic dividends.
In keeping with its desire to promote Sri Lanka’s identity as a member of the Indian Ocean Community, although initially left out in the launching of the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) in March 1995, Sri Lanka gained entry into this group whose focus is essentially economic cooperation. IOR-ARC is unique for its tri-partite mechanism which involves not only the government sector, but also representatives of the business sector as well as the academic community in the work of the Association. It is noteworthy that despite Sri Lanka's late entry into the group, Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister was elected as one of the two Vice-Chair at the formal launching of the IOR-ARC in Mauritius in March 1997.
Sri Lanka added a further dimension to its foreign relations in the region when it jointed the Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand Economic Cooperation Agreement (BIMST-EC), which provides a bridge between South Asia and South East Asia. The initial agreement for BIST-EC (prior to Myanmar joining the grouping) signed by the then Deputy Foreign Minister, D.P. Wickremasighe at the group’s inaugural meeting held in Bangkok, enabled cooperation in several sectors including trade, industry, investment, transportation, fisheries, aviation and tourism.
Sri Lanka has considerably expanded its diplomatic operations in the Middle East with a view to meeting the ever increasing consular demands resulting from the large expatriate population in the region. While Kuwait and Saudi Arabia established Resident Missions in Colombo in 1995, new Sri Lanka Embassies were opened in Jordan in 1996 and in Qatar and Lebanon in 1997. A Consulate was opened in Jeddhah, Saudi Arabia in 1997. Foreign Minister Kadirgamar's visits to the UAE, Oman and Kuwait accompanied by business delegations in 1996 and President Kumaratunga's visit to Kuwait in 1997 have not only drawn the greater attention of these Governments to the difficulties faced by Sri Lankan expatriates, particularly the domestic workers, but also helped to enhance economic ties. These visits have further consolidated the consistently friendly relations Sri Lanka has enjoyed with the Middle Eastern States. This friendship, and particularly Sri Lanka's support to the Palestinian cause, was further underlined by the State Visit to Sri Lanka by President Yassar Arafat in March 1997.
The establishment of diplomatic relations with South Africa in 1996 and the opening of a Resident Mission in Pretoria in September 1997, can be regarded as an important landmark in Sri Lanka's diplomatic history. There is considerable expectation that given the appreciation of the people of South Africa towards Sri Lanka for the solidarity shown by the Governments of Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike during the anti-apartheid struggle, the relationship is bound to have great promise in the future. Foreign Minister Kadirgamar has visited South Africa and Egypt. During the Foreign Minister’s visit to Egypt, Sri Lanka signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Security Cooperation with Egypt which provides a framework for joint cooperation in combating terrorism, drug trafficking and other transnational and organised crimes.
While continuing to maintain its close friendship with the Russian Federation, Sri Lanka has endeavored also to strengthen ties with the other Republics of the former Soviet Union. The Republics which constitute the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), have been concurrently accredited through Sri Lanka’s Missions in Moscow and Tehran while the Baltic Republics of the former Soviet Union remain covered through concurrent accreditation by Sri Lanka's Mission in Stockholm. The late Foreign Minister Kadirgamar has held discussions with several of his counterparts from these Republics with a view to expanding bilateral relations, particularly in the economic sphere, and greater momentum could be expected in these relationships in the near future.
Relations with Western Europe including the Nordic region, the USA, Canada and Australia have undergone considerable improvement in recent years, enabling not only better political understanding and support but also a sizable increase in economic interaction between Sri Lanka and these countries, at both the government and the private sector levels. Sri Lanka's diplomatic efforts have also been considerably helpful in ensuring that Sri Lanka secured favorable terms in the area of textile quotas for export to the United States and the European Community. Official visits to several of these capitals and also to Luxembourg , have helped galvanise support for Sri Lanka's peace effort and in promoting Sri Lanka's economic interests.
Although Sri Lanka has no Resident Diplomatic Missions in the countries of South America, with the exception of Cuba and Brazil, the opportunities afforded for interaction with these countries have been availed of in full measure. In addition to the regular interaction with Central and Latin American counterparts during the NAM and UN sessions, Sri Lanka has availed herself of the opportunity afforded by an address the late Foreign Minister Kadirgamar gave the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS), in October 1997 to promote Sri Lanka's case among these countries.