COLOMBO, 23 September 2005 — Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday said Sri Lanka would push bilateral trade and economic ties with India even as he would like to see better integration between the two neighboring economies. “India is an excellent economic model for Sri Lank to follow,” Rajapakse said while inaugurating the “Made in India” show organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry here yesterday.
“The Made in India show represents the achievements of our great neighbor India on various fronts, like industry, technology,” he said at the event, which was attended by India’s High Commissioner Nirupama Rao, among others. Rajapakse said his country would be integrated with the Indian economy, but said that could only happen by bringing in more business from India while emphasizing the meeting of minds to bring new thoughts and ideas to push economic ties. “For economic partnership to revel, there should be balance of trade between India and Sri Lanka, for which Sri Lanka has to export more,” Rajapakse noted.
Nirupama said the two countries have shared traditions, cultural affinities and a commitment to enhance and strengthen political, economic and cultural ties. Quoting the words of revolutionary Tamil poet Subramania Bharathi, she said there was a veritable “bridge of friendship” between the two countries. “We remain committed to deepening and expanding this vibrant partnership.”
Nirupama emphasized that there was immense scope for expanding trade in the future in the context of the economic partnership pact that the two countries are in the process of negotiating. She said the new pact was expected to carry forward the free trade agreement and take the two economies beyond trade in goods towards greater integration and impart renewed impetus and synergy to bilateral economic interaction.
The “Made in India” show presents a cross-section of corporate India, projecting the capabilities of the small, medium and large sectors, the organizers said. Prominent business houses at the show include Ashok Leyland, Escorts, Gabriel, Hero Motors, Hindalco, Kinetic Engineering, Kirloskars, Lumax, Mahindras, Tata Motors, Shriram Pistons, State Bank of India, TVS and Usha International.
Meanwhile, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels launched two attacks in eastern Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing a village counselor and injuring six others, as Parliament voted to extend a state of emergency rule by an overwhelming majority. Jeevaratnam Alaharatnam, a government-appointed counselor, was killed when four suspected rebels flung grenades and opened fire at his home in Valachchenai village, 220 kilometers east of the capital, Colombo, said Rohan Abeywardene, eastern police chief. Two others in the house sustained injuries and were being treated at a nearby hospital, Abeywardene said.
Separately, a grenade attack by suspected Tamil Tigers in Batticaloa wounded three soldiers and a policeman, said military spokesman Brig. Daya Ratnayake. Also on Wednesday, Parliament voted 118-24 to extend the government’s emergency rule on Wednesday, enacted after suspected Tamil rebels assassinated Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar on last month. The Tigers deny involvement. The government-imposed emergency laws give security forces wide powers to arrest and detain anyone for lengthy periods without charge on suspicion of threatening national security.
In northeastern Sri Lanka, ethnic Tamils went on strike Wednesday to protest the tough emergency laws, saying the military used the laws to harass them. Schools, shops and offices were closed and transportation halted for the rebel-backed strike in the crucial port town of Trincomalee, about 230 kilometers northeast of Colombo.
