Sri Lanka's new president to visit India, steers away from China

[Gibbs]

Staying away from India is stupid, economics will India will always be more efficient than with CHina. For trade the distance between the two countries is just a few hours rather than several weeks by sea with CHina. Plus, places like Bentota can become some serious rivals for places like Goa, that's a huge tourism boost for you. I don't think SL will become a large Industrial power, better to depend upon areas like tourism.

Sri Lanka is maneuvering to be a service hub.. It has a very small population relative to large industrial countries.. Tourism will be one aspect, Ports, Logistics, Financial and It will be other sectors that is been promoted

Anyway even as it stands India is the biggest trading partner.. Thats natural given the proximity and the huge market

Why are you posting photos of your dad here?

Nah my dad does'nt look nothing like him nor does i.. You on the other hand seem to be a huge fan boy.. Uncanny the similarity in hysterics..

 

[Guynextdoor2]

Sri Lanka is maneuvering to be a service hub.. It has a very small population relative to large industrial countries.. Tourism will be one aspect, Ports, Logistics, Financial and It will be other sectors that is been promoted

Anyway even as it stands India is the biggest trading partner.. Thats natural given the proximity and the huge market

My assessment is that too many large Industries are bad for your economy. No great advantage if it turns your country into places like near Colombo Railway Station. On the other hand there is also momentum around foreigners coming down- they think it's a good option at a reasonable price. And tourism is the best of all industries. Just open the cash register and watch the cash pile in. If you improve your rail infra I think you can expect very good increases.

 

[Gibbs]

My assessment is that too many large Industries are bad for your economy. No great advantage if it turns your country into places like near Colombo Railway Station. On the other hand there is also momentum around foreigners coming down- they think it's a good option at a reasonable price. And tourism is the best of all industries. Just open the cash register and watch the cash pile in. If you improve your rail infra I think you can expect very good increases.

SL had never vied as a industrial hub.. Except for a decade in the 70's as a failed experiment of then the far left govt.. The blue print for SL is of Hong Kong and Singapore.. The service hub for the region.. It's already in motion.. The Ports both air and sea.. The maritime ports are the biggest and most efficient in the region.. Only second to Singapore in the East and Dubai in the West in terms of volume and efficiency.. Infrastructure is the best in the region, Given it's small size the most convenient.. it's ranked best in doing Business in the region, Infra, 24/7 electricity, almost 98% electricity coverage among others and a highly literate population.. You can refer to rankings..

Lot of people are unaware but Lankan based BPO's like Vertusa, Millennium are some of the top ranked for high end products among many others.. The garment industry is niché, Producing high end garments not mass productions like China,India or Bangladesh and now increasingly moved on the fashion technologies and design.. So there is already a lot going on in terms of the prospects as a service hub

 

[Gibbs]

Btw contrary to what is reported in the media western based media and self proclaimed foreign experts based in India.. Lankan president is to visit China and non of the Chinese investments in the country will be stopped instead they will go ahead after proper evaluations are done to clear of corruption by the former regime

Govt. to proceed with Colombo Port City Project ::: Dailymirror.lk ::: Breaking News

Cabinet has decided to proceed with Colombo Port City Project, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Rajitha Senaratne said a short while ago. He said President Maithripala Sirisena would discuss several matters connected with the project during his visit to China in March.

@Beast @Chinese-Dragon

 

[Mughal-Prince]

Mate the 13th amendment that this article vaguely refers to as "Autonomy" is already the law in SL.. It was just not implemented for obvious reasons in the North for all these years.. But is in practice in the rest of the islands provinces.. Yes it was basically showed down the throat so to speak by the then Govt of India to gain influence through thier proxy terrorist LTTE to destabilize the country

But unfortunately it's already the law of the country.. So it's a simple case of implementation of what is essentially the law

Brah you have the point but I want to say that it's gonna overt the effort which has been done by your security forces in the era of President Rajyapaksha with some help of friendly nations and bring peace to your country.

Believe you me what they are doing by interfering in other countries and thinking that others will sit idle and do nothing is not gonna happen. It's almost the fourth country in which they have done the same and you will see the in the future they will get their reply.

 

[Echo_419]

Sri Lanka's new president to visit India, steers away from China| Reuters

(Reuters) - Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena will visit India on Feb. 16, his first state visit abroad, a government official said on Wednesday, part of efforts to repair relations with New Delhi which soured under the previous government.

Sirisena earlier pledged to pursue a more global foreign policy in a break with his predecessor Mahinda Rajapaksa's pursuit of close ties with China, a key supporter of Sri Lanka's economy since its 26-year civil war ended in 2009.

"In considering the past, we make a clear commitment towards following a foreign policy of the middle path, in friendship with all nations," Sirisena said during a speech marking Independence Day.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted he was looking forward "to welcoming President Sirisena later this month." Modi is scheduled to make a reciprocal trip in the second week of March, according to Sri Lankan government officials.

Sirisena's trip will last two days, the official told Reuters, declining to be identified.

Sri Lanka's January 8 elections unexpectedly ousted Rajapaksa and brought Sirisena, a former Rajapaksa ally, to power on a platform of rooting out corruption and bringing constitutional reforms to weaken the presidency.

Sirisena's administration has ordered a review of all Chinese infrastructure projects awarded under Rajapaksa, a move expected to sit well with India and Western nations concerned about Beijing's growing influence and military presence in the region.

Rajapaksa's decision to allow two Chinese submarines to dock in Sri Lanka last year angered India, as the move breached an existing agreement between the two countries.

In the run-up to the January vote, Sri Lanka expelled India's spy chief for helping to unite a fractious opposition to defeat Rajapaksa, according to diplomatic and political sources, although India denied any expulsion. [ID:nL4N0UX07Y]

Sirisena's visit to India will mark the changing attitudes of both nations, said P. Sahadevan, a professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

"Earlier, though it was not displayed openly, there was quite a bit of antipathy from India toward the Rajapaksa regime," Sahadevan said. "That's gone."

Sirisena has also pledged to grant autonomy to the island's former northern war zone where members of the country's ethnic Tamil minority predominantly live, part of an agreement with India that the Rajapaksa government failed to fulfill.

Hopefully relations will be fixed & Indian & SL can once again become best buddies

Btw contrary to what is reported in the media western based media and self proclaimed foreign experts based in India.. Lankan president is to visit China and non of the Chinese investments in the country will be stopped instead they will go ahead after proper evaluations are done to clear of corruption by the former regime

Govt. to proceed with Colombo Port City Project ::: Dailymirror.lk ::: Breaking News

Cabinet has decided to proceed with Colombo Port City Project, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Rajitha Senaratne said a short while ago. He said President Maithripala Sirisena would discuss several matters connected with the project during his visit to China in March.

@Beast @Chinese-Dragon

We respect SL's Sovereignty & will honour any commitments it makes to other countries as long it does is affect our legitimate interests

 

[Gibbs]

Brah you have the point but I want to say that it's gonna overt the effort which has been done by your security forces in the era of President Rajyapaksha with some help of friendly nations and bring peace to your country.

Believe you me what they are doing by interfering in other countries and thinking that others will sit idle and do nothing is not gonna happen. It's almost the fourth country in which they have done the same and you will see the in the future they will get their reply.

Appreciate the concern mate.. After all Pak Lanka relationship was paramount to the peace they enjoy in Sri Lanka now.. They are the closest allies.. Nothings gonna change that..Just wanna say the new govt has not done anything yet to undermine that

This is a domestic issue,On one hand they cant go on denying one section of it's own society the right that the rest of the country enjoys, On the other they cant compromise the security and the territorial integrity of the nation.. So far they have made all the right choices.. Not at the detriment of the security of the country

Case in point..
New Sri Lanka president renews troop deployment orders - Yahoo News

Sri Lanka's new President Maithripala Sirisena has renewed orders allowing for troops to be deployed across the island, dampening hopes on Thursday of a lower-profile military presence under his rule.

Sirisena's election last month had been expected to lead to a lessening of the numbers of troops in towns and cities -- particularly in former war zones -- which had been a prominent feature of his hardline nationalist predecessor Mahinda Rajapakse's tenure.

During the build-up to his election victory, Sirisena promised to confine the military to their barracks and call them out only in the event of an emergency or a threat to national security.

But, according to a presidential decree seen by AFP, Sirisena has now renewed a monthly authorisation for the deployment of troops across the island.

"By virtue of the powers vested in me, I, Maithripala Sirisena, do by this order call out all the members of the armed forces...for the maintenance of public order," read the order.

The presence of large numbers of troops is particular contentious in the mainly Tamil northern and eastern provinces that bore the brunt of a 37-year separatist conflict, which was brutally crushed by the army in May 2009.

Sri Lankan military personnel march during the country's 67th Independence Day celebrations, in …
During a speech on Wednesday to mark the 67th anniversary of the former British colony's independence, Sirisena had stressed his desire for a national reconciliation which Rajapakse is accused of failing to deliver.

Tamil lawmaker Suresh Premachandran said the president should explain why he felt it necessary to call out troops nearly six years after the end of the war.

"We have been asking for the withdrawal of troops from the north and the east, but this order only serves to continue the army presence," Premachandran told AFP.

"I strongly believe that there is no need to deploy troops anywhere in the country."

"He (Sirisena) promised change but if he is going to continue what the previous government did, then we are back to square one."

The Free Media Movement (FMM), a leading local rights groups, said it had expected Sirisena to confine troops to barracks.

"We think this is a retrograde step in dismantling the role of the military in our day to day life," FMM spokesman Sunil Jayasekera told AFP.

Sri Lanka lifted a state of emergency in August 2011, two years after security forces crushed Tamil Tiger rebels and declared an end to war but the previous government had deployed the military alongside the police.

 

[Mughal-Prince]

Appreciate the concern mate.. After all Pak Lanka relationship was paramount to the peace they enjoy in Sri Lanka now.. They are the closest allies.. Nothings gonna change that..Just wanna say the new govt has not done anything yet to undermine that

This is a domestic issue,On one hand they cant go on denying one section of it's own society the right that the rest of the country enjoys, On the other they cant compromise the security and the territorial integrity of the nation.. So far they have made all the right choices.. Not at the detriment of the security of the country

Case in point..
New Sri Lanka president renews troop deployment orders - Yahoo News

Sri Lanka's new President Maithripala Sirisena has renewed orders allowing for troops to be deployed across the island, dampening hopes on Thursday of a lower-profile military presence under his rule.

Sirisena's election last month had been expected to lead to a lessening of the numbers of troops in towns and cities -- particularly in former war zones -- which had been a prominent feature of his hardline nationalist predecessor Mahinda Rajapakse's tenure.

During the build-up to his election victory, Sirisena promised to confine the military to their barracks and call them out only in the event of an emergency or a threat to national security.

But, according to a presidential decree seen by AFP, Sirisena has now renewed a monthly authorisation for the deployment of troops across the island.

"By virtue of the powers vested in me, I, Maithripala Sirisena, do by this order call out all the members of the armed forces...for the maintenance of public order," read the order.

The presence of large numbers of troops is particular contentious in the mainly Tamil northern and eastern provinces that bore the brunt of a 37-year separatist conflict, which was brutally crushed by the army in May 2009.

Sri Lankan military personnel march during the country's 67th Independence Day celebrations, in …
During a speech on Wednesday to mark the 67th anniversary of the former British colony's independence, Sirisena had stressed his desire for a national reconciliation which Rajapakse is accused of failing to deliver.

Tamil lawmaker Suresh Premachandran said the president should explain why he felt it necessary to call out troops nearly six years after the end of the war.

"We have been asking for the withdrawal of troops from the north and the east, but this order only serves to continue the army presence," Premachandran told AFP.

"I strongly believe that there is no need to deploy troops anywhere in the country."

"He (Sirisena) promised change but if he is going to continue what the previous government did, then we are back to square one."

The Free Media Movement (FMM), a leading local rights groups, said it had expected Sirisena to confine troops to barracks.

"We think this is a retrograde step in dismantling the role of the military in our day to day life," FMM spokesman Sunil Jayasekera told AFP.

Sri Lanka lifted a state of emergency in August 2011, two years after security forces crushed Tamil Tiger rebels and declared an end to war but the previous government had deployed the military alongside the police.

Thanks for the insight. I am concerned for our friendly nation and we hope a better future ahead.