Nirupama Rao expressed satisfaction over the resettlement of IDPS and Development Activities in the North

India’s Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao expressed her satisfaction at the progress in the resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and development activities of the North.

Secretary Nirupama Rao who is on a three day visit to Sri Lanka met President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the Temple Trees in Colombo and assured the President that India would expedite the projects undertaken by her country, including the housing project for IDPs and reconstruction of the railway line in the North.

Meeting Sri Lanka’s President

President Rajapaksa after meeting Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao at the Temple Trees yesterday evening (September 01) said that Indian investor interest in Sri Lanka is rapidly growing, and that several leading Indian entrepreneurs in industry and other sectors have expressed interest in setting up business in Sri Lanka.

During the 45-minute discussion, she said in the last two days she had visited Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and other places in the North, as well as the East, and had seen that conditions were quite satisfactory.

President Rajapaksa said that IDPs and other persons of the area should be involved in these projects, especially the housing projects, so that they would have a sense of ownership in them. Both President Rajapaksa and the Indian Foreign Secretary re-affirmed the strong bonds of friendship and neighborly ties between the two countries.

Ms Rao conveyed Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's good wishes to the President.

Minister of External Affairs Prof G L Peiris, Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga, Treasury Secretary Dr P B Jayasundara, Sri Lanka High Commissioner in New Delhi, Prasad Kariyawasam, Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kanta, Joint Secretary Moorthi, and Deputy High Commissioner Vickram also participated in the discussions.

In Mullaitivu

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao continued her visit to Sri Lanka for the second day, by traveling to Mullaitivu and Trincomalee on 1st September. She had visited Vavuniya, Kilinochchi and Jaffna on 31st August.

In Mullaitivu, which was one of the districts most affected by the recent conflict, Foreign Secretary received a briefing from the Government Agent (GA) of Mullaitivu, Mr. N. Vethanayakam, on the status of efforts directed at resettling IDPs and rebuilding essential infrastructure in the region.

While 16,000 families have already been resettled in Mullaitivu, the GA informed Foreign Secretary that de-mining was still a factor preventing the resettlement of others. He expressed deep appreciation for the assistance that had been received from the Government of India for resettling IDPs.

Foreign Secretary subsequently met with a group of IDPs at the District Secretariat Office and distributed roofing sheets and agricultural toolkits among them. Speaking on the occasion, Nirupama Rao praised the spirit of the people of the region, saying that they had come through a very difficult challenge.

She reiterated India’s concern for the welfare of the people of this region and said that India would continue to work with the Government of Sri Lanka to help resettle the people and rebuild their lives. While speaking about India’s pledge to build 50,000 houses in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka, she underlined that this would be done using local expertise and resources wherever available so that employment could be generated locally.

She emphasized that peace was necessary for development and that the need of the hour was to look forward and benefit from the tremendous potential that Sri Lanka had as a country to grow and prosper.

With Eastern Province Chief Minister

Foreign Secretary next visited Trincomalee. She held a meeting with the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province, Mr. Sivanesathurai Chandirakanthan at the Eastern Provincial Council offices and discussed with him various projects with which India was assisting in the Eastern Province and others that were in the pipeline.

She noted in particular the project on housing, a project to assist war widows in Batticaloa by the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and another to build a vocational training centre in Eastern Province. Foreign Secretary also invited the Chief Minister to visit India at his convenience.

Foreign Secretary called on the Governor of the Eastern Province, Rear Admiral (Rtd) Mohan Wijewickrema, who briefed her on the development work undertaken in a number of sectors in the Province following the restoration of peace in mid-2007. He also outlined future investment opportunities in the Province, especially in the area of tourism. While in Trincomalee, Foreign Secretary visited the Koneswaram Temple and handed over to the temple management the keys of a bus gifted to the temple by the Government of India.

Foreign Secretary also met with leaders of major political parties, including UNP Leader and Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, as well as leaders of the Tamil National Alliance and the Ceylon Workers’ Congress.

On the final day of her visit on 2nd September, 2010, Foreign Secretary will be hosted for breakfast by the Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka, Hon. G.L.Peiris. She will hold further meetings with delegations of other political parties as well before departing for India later in the afternoon.

- Asian Tribune -