JEDDAH, 16 March — Sri Lanka has made a fervent appeal to Saudi investors and investment agencies to participate in a big way in rebuilding the island state devastated by long years of ethnic crisis.
“I spent a few days in Riyadh to convince Saudi investors as well as pan-Arab and international financial institutions and agencies to consider our requirement of funds for rebuilding the nation,” Mohamed Haniffa Mohamed, minister for the country’s western region development, said in an interview with Arab News yesterday.
Mohamed, who was in the city on his way from Riyadh where he participated in a four-day conference on the 20-year reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, said: “The much desired peace has finally returned to the war-torn country after the recent cease-fire agreement with the Tamil rebels... It is to last a couple of years within which time the government is firm that a lasting solution will be discussed and found.”
“I’ve utilized the opportunity of my participation in the conference to convince the Saudi leadership of the urgent need to participate in Sri Lanka’s reconstruction, especially in the north and the northeast, which were badly affected by the ethnic strife,” added Mohamed.
“My effort has been to convince investors here that the LTTE is serious about the cease-fire... I’ll be visiting the Kingdom again next month to attend a constituent council meeting of the Muslim World League in Makkah. Then, I’ll visit Riyadh again and discuss our investment needs with the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry,” said Mohamed, a founder member of the MWL.
The minister said that due to economic reasons, only about 5,500 Sri Lankans performed Haj this time as against over 7,000 last year.
