RIYADH, 21 November 2005 — Establishing stronger relations with Saudi Arabia and rest of the Arab world will be his top priority, said Mahinda Rajapakse, the new Sri Lankan president. Rajapakse, who took oath as the 5th president of the island country on Saturday, was speaking to Arab News in an exclusive telephone interview yesterday.
“I value the friendship we have with Saudi Arabia because it is one of the countries that has stood with Sri Lanka in good and bad times,” Rajapakse said, recalling that the world’s first woman Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike maintained excellent relations with the Kingdom. “I am following in her footsteps concerning relations with Middle East countries,” Rajapakse said.
In 2002 Rajapakse became the leader of the opposition and in April 2004 the country’s prime minister. “I have visited the Kingdom when I was an ordinary legislator, and subsequently as an opposition leader and prime minister. Now I want to visit the country as the president,” he said.
Rajapakse, who had met with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah during King Fahd’s funeral, said: “During the brief audience I had with the king, I was positive that the Kingdom would usher in a new era under him and Sri Lanka could also be a beneficiary of his magnanimity and new foreign policies.”
Rajapakse promised that Muslim interests would be well looked after under his presidency since he knew the needs of this community which constitutes eight percent of the island’s population.
“I am a new leader and mine will be a new government, and will build a better Sri Lanka with the people’s participation,” he said
Referring to international media reports branding him a hard-liner, Rajapakse said, “I have been a moderate politician embracing the interests of all political faiths and I want to continue those balanced policies throughout my political career.” He said he would respect the wishes and interests of all communities in the country and try to work for a common goal for the benefit of the entire nation.
Regarding his approach to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Rajapakse pledged to revive peace talks with the group to achieve national consensus for an “honorable peace” to end the ethnic separatist conflict.
“I reaffirm my commitment and determination to pursue the peace process that will respect the aspirations of all communities in our country,” he said.
