JEDDAH, 28 December 2007 — Sri Lanka, whose 5,500 pilgrims performed Haj this year, hopes to utilize its full Haj quota in the coming years. “We have a Haj quota of 7,000, and we hope to bring more pilgrims next year,” A.H.M. Fowzie, minister of petroleum and petroleum resources development, told Arab News at a community reception here. He thanked the Kingdom for the excellent Haj arrangements and hospitality.
Asked to comment on regular clashes between the government and the LTTE, he said: “Despite the fighting, the government is continuing its efforts to resolve the issue through negotiation.”
About the rehabilitation of Sri Lanka’s tsunami survivors, he said, “The government has resettled over 80 percent of the tsunami victims within three years under the tsunami resettlement and rehabilitation program.”
There has been a 29 percent jump in the number of tourists coming from Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East to Sri Lanka, Deputy Tourism Minister Faisal Mustapha, who was also present at the reception, said.
“A new trend is that the number of visitors from the Middle East and other Asian regions has increased besides those coming from Europe and other Western countries.” He said tourism now accounts for the country’s fourth source of revenue after exports of manpower, garments and steel.
