Indian envoy points to “substantial advantageous” to Sri Lanka if it links up with India’s fast growing economy
Posted on August 7th, 2018
Courtesy NewsIn.Asia
Colombo, August 7 (newsin.asia): The Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, stressed the substantial” advantages that Sri Lanka will have if it links up with India, which is the sixth largest and the fastest growing major economy in the world today.
Addressing the Sri Lanka-India Society (SLIS) at a function here to mark India’s Independence Day and the SLIS’s Platinum Jubilee on August 5, 2018, the envoy said that India– Sri Lanka relations should look towards opportunities waiting to be exploited..
He said that Sri Lankan youth could fulfill their aspirations by becoming part of India’s growth story.
The High Commissioner said that India and Sri Lanka have jointly executed various people – oriented development projects undertaken. These have had a direct impact on the lives of common people. In this context he cited the Indian Housing Project and the Emergency Ambulance Service – the nationwide expansion of which was recently launched.
High Commissioner Sandhu stressed that India has also done close to 70 people-oriented small development projects across all the provinces of Sri Lanka.
Around 20 such projects, including construction of rainwater harvesting units, construction of toilets, upgrading and constructing schools such as the tri-lingual school in Polonnaruwa, and providing infrastructure facilities for universities including a 1500 seat auditorium in Ruhuna University in Matara are currently underway.
The envoy emphasized that India’s development partnership is not limited to one sector or area but encompasses a wide variety of sectors and was spread across the island.
He added that it is heartening to note that India has been able to fulfill its promises in time.
High Commissioner Sandhu pointed out that as democracies which are mandated by the will of the people to fulfill their aspirations, India and Sri Lanka have the responsibility to make the developmental journey as smooth, fast and comfortable as possible.
Not just the governments on both sides, but industry, academia, the youth, and civil society have an important role to play in shaping the future of India-Sri Lanka relations.
During the event, the past Presidents of the Sri Lanka-India Society were felicitated. The event concluded with a musical performance by the Oriental Choir of Colombo and a fellowship dinner.
Among those present were the State Minister for Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake, the Mayor of Colombo Ms. Rosy Senanayake, the Attorney General Jayantha Jayasuriya, President of SLIS T.S. Prakash.
The SLIS was founded in 1949, soon after the independence of India and Sri Lanka. SLIS is the oldest and largest friendship society in Sri Lanka.
(The featured image at the top shows Indian High Commissioner, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, being received at the Sri Lanka India Society Platinum Jubilee function)
August 8th, 2018 at 3:04 am
Deals with India is a one way street. All Indian Way! Sri Lanka will be awash with Kallthonis in no time. We must protect our nation, culture and national integrity. This is one sure way to completely loose our identity as a nation and the notion must be completely defeated in every way possible.
This is India’s way of trying to annex Sri Lanka – what they intended, but failed to achieve as the British left Sri Lanka.
August 8th, 2018 at 5:54 am
India is not a freal friend of Sri Lanka We should have less to do with it maintaining just good relations, with the ability to say Yes or No as it suits Sri Lanka.
August 8th, 2018 at 5:16 pm
FTA with India is a loss of more than $4 billion a year. It gets worse. Even the locally consumed goods and services only benefit Indians. In other words India has destroyed local industries to the tune of $4 billion a year.
They only employ Indians to high salaried positions.
India is careful not to compete against Indian owned businesses in Sri Lanka. They avoid those industries like garment importers, etc. These are owned by local Indians. They only target Sinhala-owned businesses.
India is just a parasite in every way. All deals with India are like that. We lose and end up taking in Indian dirt.
August 8th, 2018 at 5:37 pm
Let Sinhala Buddhist patriots IDENTIFY the LARGEST IMPORTS from India, and startup IMPORT SUBSTITUTION industries with or without the collaboration/assistance of other non-Indian nations.
Among those products we import largely from India are food grains/pulses, financial services, medical services, fertilizers and chemicals, industrial small tools, three wheelers, small passenger vehicles, small commercial trucks,and passenger buses. All of these can be manufactured in Sri Lanka with pour own expertise and/or foreign non-Indian assistance.
Just imagine: Now Modi proposes to send Indian manufactured TOILETS to “help SriLanka improve its sanitation”. Should he not attend to the SANITATION ISSUES in India FIRST? What does India have to teach Sri Lanka in that field??
August 8th, 2018 at 5:40 pm
This FTA with India MUST BE STOPPED SOMEHOW! SOON! before it SWALLOWS up Sri Lanka!
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Widening of Free Trade Agreement: India, Sri Lanka aiming to conclude talks by December
Sun, Aug 5, 2018
Aug 05 (WION) Holding the tenth round of talks for widening the scope of existing free trade agreement in goods, India and Sri Lanka are aiming at concluding the negotiations by December this year.
“The talks are going at a healthy pace and both the countries are targeting to conclude the talks by December for the Economic and Technology Co-operation Agreement (ETCA),” an official said.
The pact is aimed at further boosting the economic ties between the two countries by liberalising trade norms.
Both the countries already have a free trade agreement (FTAs) in goods, but now the talks are on to widen the scope of this pact by including services and investments to make it comprehensive.
India and Sri Lanka have a free trade agreement in goods was implemented in March 2000.
India has a healthy trade surplus in goods with Sri Lanka. India exported goods worth US $4.5 billion in 2017-18 and its imports from that country were only US $773 million.
Sri Lanka is India’s major trading partner in South Asia.
In 2003, both sides set up a joint study group to widen the ambit of the FTA. Based on its recommendations, they started negotiations for a comprehensive economic partnership agreement in February 2005.
August 8th, 2018 at 5:45 pm
MORE SriLankan Politicians QUEUE UP to ABJECTLY GENUFLECT at TIRUPATI Temple! SHAME …. what kind of idol-worshipping BUDDHISTS are these?? ALL of our TOP politicians on both sides of the aisle suffer from this SAME SERIOUS MENTAL DISEASE!
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Sri Lankan PM on a pilgrimage to Tirupathi Temple in India
Fri, Aug 3, 2018, 08:33 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Aug 03, Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, his wife Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe and several ministers on Friday visited Tirupati Temple in Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh.
Wickremesinghe along with his wife Maithree Wickremesinghe among other ministers and their families visited the shrine to offer their prayers to Lord Venkateswara, ANI reported.
His last visit to the temple was in 2016.
Speaking to Indian media afterwards, the Premier thanked Government of India and the state government of Andhra Pradesh for facilitating their visit.
August 9th, 2018 at 3:22 am
Substantial disadvantages of course. Fastest growing economy is further east and it is called China. Anybody
visiting China will see it for themselves. No beggars, no children sleeping rough by the thousands, no streets
littered with pooh etc. etc. Remember what those rascals did to us? It trained barrel man hitler mala paharan
and its catholic tigers of tamil drealam and it cost us 100,000+ lives, mainly Sinhalese, in a 30+ years
protracted war. We will be overwhelmed with kallathonis and it will be the end of Sri Lanka, Sinhalese race and
Buddhism.
Of course portuguese national traitor chief die hard catholic token Buddhist mega thief mega thakkadiya bay gal
karaya walking crime bomb (against Sinhalese, Sri Lanka and Buddhism only) with the timer set for 10-20 years
Batalande Wandakaya Pol Pol r@ni_leech wickrama Sinhala killer will be more than happy to let anybody enter
Sri Lanka who can destroy Buddhism to make its dream come true. These crafty, two faced, conniving indians
know this is the best time to do it while the traitor puppet the rubber stamp vaira pala narisena there while
the traitor chief Batalande Wandakaya ruling Sri Lanka. Sinhala modayas you are not just booruwas you have
become jaathi dhrohiyas as well by voting these anti Sinhalese, anti Buddhist, anti Sri Lanka traitor YAMA
PALLANS!
August 9th, 2018 at 3:37 am
Year is 2018 and this pathala man PM Batalande Wandakaya running to india for divine help for the crimes it has
committed. Anything, Batalande Wandakaya should’ve gone to Sri Dalada Maligawa, only 72 miles away or Sri
Maha Bodhi 125 miles from it or any Buddhist temple for that matter, where you can worship the only true
religion in the world. But Wandakaya can’t do it since if it goes to a Buddhist temple its catholic buddies going to
be upset, if you go to a church, then its token Buddhist cover going to be blown. So Wandakaya takes the ‘cheaty’
route as usual to collect some tamil votes while getting ‘divine’ help only to cheat itself. Buddhism is the only
religion which passes the science test with flying colours. Any scientific theory has no conflict with Buddhism
while all other religions fail miserably.
At least Wandakaya should read Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution and The Tree of Life. The theory and the
book completely destroyed the god concept for good. People still worshiping these mythical gods are only cheating
themselves. On the other hand Wandakaya’s life has all been lies, murders, treacheries, robberies and it will
rot in hell for 1000s of life times. You have no escape if you follow these mythical gods. Go 72/125 miles or
to the nearest Buddhist temple pea brained pathala man!