It is an impressive figure for any economy in the world. Peace came in Sri Lanka one year ago and it seems that peace is helping the country to get some kind of prosperity.
What is even more impressive is the fact that many countries in the world were still suffering from the aftermath of the global economic recession.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said, "The Ministry of Economic Development is focused on making the country a leading economy in Asia and the pride of the region. Investment and tourism have recorded remarkable growth."
Ajith Nivard Cabraal is the governor of the central bank and he is hopeful that Sri Lanka will see 8% economic growth in 2011.
Sri Lanka has all the potential to become one of the top economies in Asia. It has a sea port in a very important region in the world that has the potential to become another Hong Kong or Singapore. Sri Lanka also has skilled and educated manpower with the highest literacy rate in South Asia.
Of course, the only thing that is needed now is peace among the two ethnic races and political stability.
Sri Lankan captain, Kumar Sangakkara, is now inspiring his team to continue the winning streak following their biggest win over India.
After defeating India with a huge margin and more balls spare at hand, Sri Lanka has reached to the finals of the tri-series ODI tournament. Now, they are waiting for the final match that will be held on 28th August 2010. With one more victory, they can hold the tri-series trophy.
Team India was bundled out for 103 runs in 33.4. It was one of the humiliating and shameful defeats in the recent history of Indian cricket. It was also the largest defeat in India’s history in terms of balls remaining. However, Sri Lankan team took 15.1 overs only to reach the target. They won the match by 8-wicket and 209 balls remaining at hand. Ahead of the final match that will take place six days later, Sri Lanka is taking hard preparation for their consistent win.
Despite the retirement of some veteran players like Muttiah Muralitharan, Sanath Jayasuriya and Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lanka could stop India in a low scoring game. However, the best win against India was in Sharjah in the finals of the Coca Cola Champions Trophy in 2000 where Sri Lanka bet India by 245 runs. According to Kumar Sangakkara, it was the best victory against their favorite opponent India.
Winning the toss, Sri Lanka decided to bat first and scored 299 for the loss of 5 wickets. In reply, India were all out for 54. There is no doubt that it should be remembered as one of the greatest victories against India. From this victory, Sri Lanka will get confidence that they can still do things like this.
The improvement of Mahela Jayawardene from middle order to top order impressed the viewers. His promotion saw the down of specialist opener, Upul Tharanga, to No. 3.
It is not sure that Mahela Jayawardene will make open for Sri Lanka in the final match. Sri Lanka has five days to make a plan for the final. May be some changes will be brought in the batting line up.
Let’s see if any change can help the host team to get consistently.
The 8-wicket victory over India has helped Sri Lankan cricket team to make their place in the tri-series final. They could manage to get bonus point after clinching the victory with 209 balls remaining at hand.
No doubt, it was one of the most shameful and humiliating defeat that comes under the leading of Mahendra Singh. Perhaps is the most the disgraceful defeat for team India in the recent history.
Indian skipper, Mahendra Singh, won the toss and decided to bat first that was later proved to be a wrong decision. Coming to bat first, India scored 103 runs in 33.4 overs. Star studded Indian batting line up was dismissed cheaply by Sri Lankan seamers.
Thissara Perera led Sri Lankan bowling attack with his maiden five-wicket haul in the ODI format of cricket game. Because of his heroic contribution, Thisara Perera was awarded man of the match. Strong bowling line up did not let Indian batsmen to play big innings or make big partnership. It also can be said that Indian batsmen failed to read the mind of Sri Lankan bowlers.
India’s batting line up looked much fragile and weak. Their trouble started after their best batsman Virender Sehwag was trapped lbw by Kulasekara. Except Yuvraj Singh, neither of the batsmen could stay long. Yuvraj Singh scored 38 runs from .
Both Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara took two wickets each. The rest of one wicket was taken by Angela Mathews.
Sri Lanka was looking for a much-needed victory to stay alive in the tournament. In reply, Sri Lanka reached the chasing target losing two openers. They scored 104 runs in 15.1 overs. Jayawardene (33) and Dilshan (35) made the task easier after making 76-run partnership in the opening stand. Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara remained not out on 12 and 13.
Sri Lankan cricket team has beaten New Zealand by 3 wickets with 55 balls remaining at hand at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. Sri Lanka scored 195 for 7 in 40.5 overs.
Sri Lanka’s brilliant bowling performance contributed by Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews helped to bundle out the opponent team in a low chasing score of 192 in the second match of the tri-nation ODI series.
Sri Lanka could successfully chase down the target thanks to Upul Tharanga and Kumar Sangakkara. These two batsman put 85-run partnership in the second wicket stand. Sri Lanka also suffered after the departure of their wickets.
With the ball, Kyle Mills could raise some hope of winning the match, but Thilan Samaraweera snatched the dream with his not out 36-run innings.
New Zealand was in buoyant form after defeating India by a massive 200 runs in the opening match. However, they failed to do the same thing against the home team as they made poor start after opting to bat first winning the toss. Half of their players were sent back to the pavilion inside 23.1 overs putting 101 runs in the score board.
Scoring 55 runs from 68 balls including 8 boundaries, BJ Watling was the highest run scorer in his debut game. His brilliant effort could not help the team to make a huge score as New Zealand kept losing wickets regularly. New Zealand started losing wickets with the opener Martin Guptill who was caught out in the second ball of the first over.
Lasith Malinga and Angelo Mathews took 6 wickets, 3 wickets apiece. Rangana Herath took two wickets alone while other two wickets were shared between Nuwan Kulasekara and Ajantha Mendis.
In the next match, Sri Lanka will take on India on August 16, 2010 at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium. No doubt, Sri Lanka should take some inspiration from this victory.
In its attempt to build a positive image, Sri Lankan government spent a large amount of money in the recently held IIFA Awards 2010.
The Sunday Times reported that Sri Lankan government originally approved Rs.450 million for IIFA. The total expenditure for the event was about Rs.1.1 billion of which over Rs. 850 million has been provided by the government. This is too much for a country that just came out of a long bloody civil war.
Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Deputy Economic Minister, Sri Lanka at a Press Conference, said that the total government expenditure for the IIFA Awards 2010 was Rs.850 million of which 450 million was approved by the Treasury.
He said that Rs.400 million was spent on renovating the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium. The government had to fix the Indoor stadium. They fixed the air conditioning and repaired two thousand seats. However, Mr. Abeywardena did not mention that the Rs.400 million is actually a loan from a state bank.
In addition, the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) spent Rs.75 million to repair the roads and roundabouts. The Ceylon Electricy Board spent a lot to power up the stadium and Defense Ministry bore the expense of making security arrangements.
However, the tourism authorities and Wizcraft officials said that the return to Sri Lanka far higher than the spending. Wizcraft Director Sabbas Joseph said that Sri Lankan government received $60 million for advertising and a publicity worth Rs.1.5 million from International media. The IIFA 2010 Colombo show was viewed by 600 million viewers in India and across 120 countries in the world.
In an effort to help the Tamil rebels, a mass marriage had been conducted on June 13, 2010 by the Sri Lankan military, where more than 100 former rebels were married. The ceremony took place in Vavuniya, the northern district of Sri Lanka.
A total of 53 couples were given marriage certificates.
Popular Bollywood actor, Vivek Oberoi, attended the ceremony.
The ceremony started at Pampaimadu in Vavuniya at 7.00 a.m. in the morning. Hindu and Christian priests conducted the wedding and the Registrars of Marriage handed necessary papers to the couples. The crowd that came to see the ceremony was given ladoos (a type of sweet) and cakes.
Last year, these rebels were held in the military custody in Vavuniya after the defeat of LTTE.
According to Commissioner General of Rehabilitation, Brigadier Sudantha Ranasinghe, most of these rebels were living together and their relationship had no social or legal recognition. Some rebels even have children. Hence, it would be better if their relationship is legalized. It is a part of their rehabilitation process.
Because of this marriage, their children would have inheritance rights and would be able to get social welfare assistance.
The militants are being rehabilitated at a military-run camp in Vavuniya.
Vivek Oberoi’s presence was an additional attraction of the ceremony. The actor even talked with some of the couples.
The upcoming Indian International Film Academy Award (IIFA) will help Sri Lanka to build a positive image to the world. For the last twenty six years, Sri Lanka had been ravaged by civil war. Most of the time, media used to give out news of war and death and it affected the overall economy of the country.
Now, the war is over and Sri Lanka is now serious to improve its economy. Hence, it bid to host the 11th IIFA award in Colombo.
Each year the countries have to bid to host for the award ceremony. Previously, the IIFA award took place in London, Sun City, Johannesburg, Singapore, Malaysia, Dubai, Amsterdam, Yorkshire and Bangkok.
In 2009, IIFA celebrated its 10th anniversary in Macau. This year, nine countries bid to host IIFA 2010 and out of them Sri Lanka won the bid.
Yapa Abeywardena, Economic Development Deputy Minister of Sri Lanka, said that hosting the 11th IIFA Awards will have a positive effect in Sri Lanka’s development scheme.
Mr. Abeywardena visited the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium to inspect the progress where the MicroMax IIFA Awards 2010 will take place. He said that around 600 million viewers will watch the event on television and more than 300 foreign media representatives from more than 110 countries will be present to cover the event. This would show that Sri Lanka has all the capabilities to host an International show.
Mr. Abeywardena believes that the show would have a positive effect on Sri Lanka’s rapidly growing tourism sector. He hopes that the number of Indian tourists in Sri Lanka would increase by 50% next year.
Around 2,650 hotel rooms have been booked for the event and hotels from Colombo to Bentotal will accompany visitors.
Sri Lankan government is now planning to transfer various private provident funds and pension funds, registered with the Commissioner of Labour, to the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) for better supervision and management. The whole transfer process will be overlooked by the Central Bank.
A reliable source said, “Although these funds are regulated by the Labour Commissioner, the supervision does not include prudential rules and guidelines. The absence of a regulatory and supervisory system for private superannuation funds has been identified as one of the gaps in the regulation of the financial system,”
Currently, there are 170 private provident and pension funds with about 1,50,000 members and assets worth about Rs. 125 billion.
The Central Bank also proposed that all the funds except for the Employees’ Provident Fund be supervised by IBSL. The reason behind this exclusion is that the EPF funds are already managed by the Monetary Board, highest regulatory authority in the country.
The Central Bank of Sri Lanka proposed to set up a new regulatory authority to overlook all the fund because prior to the introduction of the Employees’ Provident Funds, many major institutions of the country including commercial banks, Unilevers, Sri Lanka Telecom and Mercantile Sector Provident Funds Society, and John Keells Holdings, set up their own superannuation funds.
A law, introduced in 1996, prohibits further creation of such funds. By creating a new regulatory authority to manage all the superannuation funds this law could be changed and the funds will be channeled to the country’s capital market.
According to the Central Bank, the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka (IBSL) is very well suited to manage these funds. The bank has already created necessary laws and corresponded with the IBSL and the Labour Commissioner.
In April, at a Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) press conference, Udaya Sri Kariyawasam, Chairman of SEC and IBSL, said that CB and IBSL are looking to improve the regularity structure to approve superannuation funds to invest in the capital market. Related Article Private pension funds to be regulated by IBSL
Sri Lanka is one of the South Asian teams that have strong possibility to win the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010 champions trophy. Last year, they were the runners-up team. This year, they will try their best to fulfill their dream. Ahead of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010, Sri Lankan selectors announced a strong 15 men squad. Here is the squad:
It is expected that Sri Lanka will perform well in the third edition of the Twenty20 World Cup. In the second edition, they were the best performer and remained undefeated until Pakistan won the trophy. Pakistan beat them in the final match. May be, the forthcoming tournament will give them an opportunity to win the trophy for the first time.
The ICC Twenty20 World Cup 2010 will be played in West Indies. It is said that the condition of West Indies pitches favor Sri Lankan style of playing. They moved up to the final round in 2007 world cup which took place in the West Indies too. Perhaps they can win the trophy this time.
Sri Lanka has one of the strongest and experienced squads in this tournament. Most of their players have experience in playing international matches. No doubt, other teams will have a tough time playing against them.
Sri Lankan squad is full of older players. That is why, it is called an ageing squad. Skipper Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and tillakaratane Dilshan have already crossed 30. Vice-captain, Muralitharan, and Sanath Jayasuryisa are in their 40s. They are experienced players and all of them have great contribution behind the success of Sri Lanka team. A lot will depend on their performance. Their experience will be a major advantage for the team. However, their fitness and ground fielding have been questioned.
Sri Lanka is the balanced team in both batting and bowling. They are also good in ground fielding. Their team combination in Twenty20 World Cup 2010 will put the opposite team under huge pressure. Kumar Sangakkara will lead the team this year. He is a left handed batsman and the only wicketkeeper in the Sri Lankan squad. It seems to me very interesting because selectors did not select extra wicketkeeper for injury option. Who will keep the wicket for Sri Lanka team if Kumar Sangakkara gets injured?
Mahela Jayawardene is another important player in the Sri Lankan squad. He has been playing cricket for a long time. He will be an effective player with his experience. Sanath Jayasuriya has been included luckily despite his poor performance in recent times. He is the oldest player and is not performing very well. However, selectors hope that he will get back his form.
Tillakaratane Dilshan is a hard hitter opening batsman. He is known for his aggressive batting style. May be, he will continue his work this time also. Opposite bowlers will try hard to take his wicket as early as possible. If he stays longer in the field then match result will turn in favor of Sri Lanka team. He was awarded player of the series in the second edition of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup and he also scored the in the series. I hope that he will catch the media attention again with his performance.
Twenty-year-old Dinesh Chandimal is the only new face in the squad. He is a right handed batsman. However, there is a strong possibility that he would not be included in the main squad. Chinthika Jayasinge is not new face but he has not played many games for the Sri Lankan team. Chamara Kapugedera is an effective middle order batsman.
Sri Lankan cricket team will heavily depend on two allrounders- Angelo Mathews and Thissara Perera. Angelo Mathews is a good all rounder. He is a regular member in Kolkata Knight Riders. I think that he will play an important role in the upcoming tournament. Thissara Perera is not a bad performer in T20 format.
Sri Lankan selectors will have to face a big problem when it comes to select bowlers in the main squad. Sri Lanka has a lot of quality bowlers. Lasith Malinga is one of them. He will lead the bowling line up. Chanaka Welegedara will make his T20 debut with this tournament. He has not yet played any T20 match. Nuwan Kulasekara is the third fast bowler. Selectors will have to select any two among three.
Sri Lankan cricket team also has three spinners. Muthiah Muralitharan and Suraj Randiv are two off spinners. Ajantha Mendis is another spinner in the team. However, three of them will not be used in any match. May be, selectors will select one or two spinners. If players are selected based on their performances, then Ajantha Mendis has the highest possibility to be selection.
It was the Independence Day of Sri Lanka today and it was celebrated by the people in a happy state of mind without fear of violence. For many years, such anniversaries were celebrated with a lot of tension because of fear of possible attacks by Tamil Tiger Rebels. The rebellion was crushed completely a few months ago. President, Mahinda Rajapaksa has called for national unity and reconciliation.
President Mahinda Rajapakse said, "The freedom from colonial rule that we gained 62 years ago is now more meaningful because we have been liberated from the forces of separatist terror that marred our freedom for nearly half that period.
It is necessary that we give priority to the tasks of national reconciliation and the building of trust among all sections of our people.
We are entering into a new era of co-existence after finishing the period of some controversy. I would like to say that we are now entering the golden era of international relations."
I am not that much hopeful for two reasons. First of all, after the civil war ended, there has not been any major initiative from Sri Lankan government to improve the condition of the Tamil community. So, the grievance among the people belonging to Tamil community is not going to disappear.
Secondly, Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected in a way in the election that caused a lot of bitter feeling among the opposition parties. So, the president not only has to win the heart of the Tamil people but also he will have to find a way to make good relationship with the opposition supporters.
The result of Presidential election 2010 of Sri Lanka has been announced less than one hour ago. According to the official result, the current president Mahinda Rajapaksa has become the winner by securing nearly 60% of the votes. His main opponent was General Sarath Fonseka who got nearly 40% of the votes. After the result of the election was announced, there is some kind of uncertainty in Sri Lankan capital and other parts of the country. The opposition parties are unhappy and opposition leaders have already rejected the result by alleging fraud in the election. Independent Observers have said the election was fair but with some serious problems or questions unanswered. The hotel that General Sarath Fonseka is now staying has been surrounded by some troops belonging to Army, Navy and Air force. International media is reporting about this matter with a lot of importance.
The supporters of the president Mahinda Rajapaksa are now celebrating in different parts of the country. Many of them have come to the street and are expressing their joy and they are very happy with this result and they feel that the people have voted for him because this president could ensure peace for the country. Only a few months ago, Sri Lankan army could crash Tamil rebellion in the North of the country.
On the other hand, the opposition leaders are very unhappy and they have already rejected the election result. They are stating that the will of the people have not been reflected in the election result. In fact, General Sarath Fonseka has announced that he would challenge the result in the court and he will fight a legal battle for this election.
The run up to the election was not peaceful as some people died in violent clashes. I have to say that the number of deaths is not that much compared to many third world countries but it was still an uneasy environment for the people. Some reports suggested that in some areas, intimidation was used and some people belonging to the minority voters could not go to vote. So, whether it was a violent or peaceful campaign there is no doubt that the run up to the election was full of problems and bitterness. The two candidates accused each other of serious matters. For example, the opposition leader constantly accused of corruption against the current president and his allies.
Although General Sarath Fonseka has stated that he will go to court and fight a legal battle but I am sure that this problem will not remain limited only in the court room. I am expecting to see street battles or political movements by the combined opposition parties against ruling government in the next few months. In fact, the election became so bitter that I am worried about the future of Sri Lankan economy. I feel that the time for political instability is going to start in the country.
When the problem of Tamil rebellion finished a few months ago, there was a lot of optimism that the country see a new beginning and things will totally become peaceful. However, the election just showed how divided public opinions in Sri Lanka is. Even if you are ready to accept all the accusations of General Sarath Fonseka, there is still a lot of popular support for the current president Mahinda Rajapaksa. So, the entire populations are divided and this can not be good for the economy. Instability is always bad for economy and we have seen these problems in another neighboring country Nepal. Nepal is also a beautiful country in South Asia and it has a lot of potential in the tourism sector just like Sri Lanka. However, political fighting has totally destroyed the Nepalese economy and Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world.
I am afraid for Sri Lankan economy for the same problem. Recently, an influential media of USA announced Sri Lanka to be the most attractive place to visit 2010. So, the tourism sector of this country should get a lot of boost in this year but if political problem starts then the tourism sector will surely suffer. If instability comes again then the Sri Lankan government will become weak and I will not be surprised to see the Tamil problem again becoming a major problem for the country. Of course, in 2010, I am not expecting any resurgence of the Tamil problem but if bitterness and political division continues among the majority Sinhalese population, then Tamil problem will come again sooner or later. The reaction of international community is not still clear. As I said, only less than one hour ago the result has been announced and it is perhaps too early to expect official reaction from international community. There is no official reaction from USA or UK yet. There were some independent observers and most probably tomorrow, we will get a better picture of their assessment of the president election 2010.
I hope that Sri Lankan political leaders can sort out their problems and find a common ground. However, I am not hopeful because in many third world countries, political fighting is a very natural matter and in the end, I think that it is ultimately the ordinary people who are to blame for this. They must try to give value to democratic culture and they must become conscious and active in politics. Only then they can exert real pressure on political leaders and political leaders will be forced to work in a peaceful way and thus any real change will come to a country like Sri Lanka.
Tourism is one of the main foreign exchange earners for Sri Lankan economy. Because of the civil war, this sector was badly hit. The civil war ended a few months ago and as a result, it is expected that many people would come to the country again. The tourism sector of Sri Lanka would surely get a good boost thanks to New York Times. The US newspaper mentioned it as the top place to travel in 2010.
The island, with a population of just 20 million, feels like one big tropical zoo: elephants roam freely, water buffaloes idle in paddy fields and monkeys swing from trees. And then there’s the pristine coastline. The miles of sugary white sand flanked by bamboo groves that were off-limits to most visitors until recently are a happy, if unintended byproduct of the war.
Sri Lankan government should focus on developing infrastructure for this sector. If tourism flourishes then many foreign companies would happily come and invest.
Sri Lankan selectors have announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming Tri-Nation ODI Tournament in Bangladesh next month. They have included more new players in this squad. Some senior players have been axed from the squad. We can see that selectors are depending on fresh look face for the tour series in New Year. It is clear that selectors are not satisfied with the performance of some senior players. I don’t know either it was a wise decision to bring more new players. However, it is a chance given to the fresh and energetic players to prove their quality and ability to seal the victory.
Lahiru Thirimanne is the only uncapped player in Sri Lanka team. He is left-hand batsman and right-arm medium-fast bowler. He has good performance both first class cricket and list A. It is expected that this 20-year-old batsman can play an important role as an all rounder.
However, Sri Lankan cricket team will be deprived of the service of some senior players who have been left out due to injury. They are Mahela Jayawardene, Angelo Mathews, Muttiah Muralitharan and Dilhara Fernando. Their absence in the national squad can affect the team performance.
Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis failed to take a place in the squad because of their poor performance in the recently concluded tour series against India.
Kumar Sangakkara is the captain of Sri Lankan cricket team. He is now in good form. Sangakkara is the leading batsman with an average of 55.10. Recently, he will join Lancashire. This ODI tournament is a big challenge for them because he will have to lead some young players who have not any experience to play international match.
This triangular ODI series will kick off from 4th January 2010 against home team Bangladesh. Let us see if the home team can make any upset or not.
At last, there is some peace in Sri Lanka. In the last few months, we did not hear of any violence escalating in big level. Well, the civil war may have ended but national reconciliation is yet to take place in the country. Anyway, Sri Lankan government officials know that they have to try for economic growth now. So, the country is trying to attract foreign investment.
Sri Lanka is entering a new phase of economic growth after the recent resolution of the conflict with the Tamil Tigers separatist group. It is aggressively seeking to make the region investor- friendly for global businesses.
It is also seeking to invest in India’s banking, financial services and tourism sectors. Two of the country’s leading hotel chains – John Keells and Aitken Spence – are planning a major foray each into India. Other details of the investment could not be ascertained.
Hopefully, now Sri Lanka will have more business friendly environment. The country has perhaps the highest rate in literacy in South Asia and before the civil war started, many people dreamt that it would become another Singapore.
A few days ago, I wrote that India was buying a lot of gold instead of US dollar. Now, it seems that Sri Lanka is doing the same thing. There is some media speculation that Sri Lanka has purchased five tonnes of gold. This way, it is diversifying forex reserve. Economic recession in USA has made dollar weak and instable. So, central banks in India and Sri Lanka are perhaps thinking that Gold is more solid and stable. Sri Lanka will soon have a foreign exchange reserve of nearly $5 billion. It is a healthy amount compared to the size of the population.
In most countries in the world, mobile phone operators feel that it is the young generation who is their main customer. They have this feeling because young people try to adapt to new technology more than their elders. Sri Lanka is not an exception either. It has mobile phone penetration rate of over 50% and this is a good market for any company. So, the operators have brought this technology to the hand of teenagers and this has caused some problems in some schools. Many teenagers are getting addicted to their phone sets and what happened was that a teacher scolded a girl severely for talking to a boy with her cell during school time. This matter made the girl very sad and she committed suicide. Another student tried to kill himself. So, the government officials have become worried and have banned carrying cell phones in school.
Well, I do not support this decision because for working parents whose children go to school every day, mobile phone is a very important device to stay connected. So, what Sri Lankan government is doing in fact is like cutting off the head because headache pain.
After the end of civil war, now, one of the top priorities for the government of the country is to look after the economy. Many people have suffered and the economy of the country also suffered in the last 3 decades. Of course, it needs massive support from international community. World Bank yesterday ‘approved a $ 24 million IDA credit’. The areas in north and east have been ravaged by the civil war and many people are in extreme need of aid.
The project will continue to support the decentralization of health service delivery, including the strengthening of district and provincial capacity for planning and implementation of health programs, the Bank said in a statement. It would also support efforts to improve service delivery and renovate health facilities, provide training for health workers, and provision of medical supplies and equipment, it added.
It is a welcome relief for many people in Sri Lanka. However, World Bank should monitor strictly that the money reaches to the people who really need it.
Sri Lanka is a very beautiful country for tourism. It has natural beauty and it has some very important historical places. If you are a fan of Buddhism then you should make a visit to this country at least once ina life time. There is no doubt that Sri Lanka has a huge potential in the tourism sector. In fact, tourism brings significant portion of money for the neighboring country Maldives. So, there is no reason that Sri Lanka should not be able to do that.
I am optimistic that tourism can soon become a billion dollar industry for the country. The good part is that it not only brings foreign exchange but also generates a lot of jobs in different corners of the country.
Dhanapala Weerasekera has written a commentary on the current condition of Sri Lanka in Daily News. If you read it then you will understand that Mr. Weerasekera has praised the role of current president of the country, Mahinda Rajapaksa. There is no doubt that Mahinda Rajapaksa has shown leadership skill in bringing the civil war to an end. He has received generous praise from home and abroad for his efforts and leadership. However, with the end of the civil war, there are now new challenges. I am quoting from that article:
Equal rights for all as Sri Lankans
The President’s firm assurance that hereafter there will be no minority communities or majority communities, but all Sri Lankans, is a statement that none of our past leaders had the political sincerity and self-confidence to declare.
The divisions and differences among people were used by past leaders to gain power or remain in power from the time of independence. This folly of dividing subjects of colonial Ceylon when independence was won was supported by Sinhalese Tamil and other leaders as proposed by the then UNP leadership.
I think that this will be the biggest challenge for the government: to ensure national solidarity and reconciliation. All the political parties of the country must try for it from their heart. They should learn from the past and remember that if the country again falls into civil war and unrest then their safety will at stake too.
Sri Lanka is the leading exporter of tea and it is one of the main foreign exchange earners for the country. Sri Lanka has been badly hit by the ongoing civil war and it is obvious that it hurts the economy badly. So, the government has to maneuver with limited number of products for the economic development and tea is always high on its agenda. Sri Lanka Tea Board is always exploring for new markets and one of the potential markets is China. Due to continuous high economic growth for the last two decades, China is an attractive market for any product.
China is the largest producer of tea in the world but it also has a population of over 1 billion people. So, there is always room for high quality tea in the country. Ceylon tea is considered to be one the best quality of tea varieties. That is why, Sri Lanka Tea Board is now encouraging tea producers of Sri Lanka to actively pursue the Chinese market. International Tea Fair will take place in Hong Kong in August 2009 and Sri Lanka Tea Board has urged the tea companies of the country to try to take part on it. Let us see if it can bring any good news for Sri Lanka tea industry.
