Today, we celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Independence of our motherland. On this auspicious occasion, I extend my sincere greetings and good wishes with immense pleasure, to all Sri Lankans in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I also convey my good wishes to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the government of Saudi Arabia and the friendly people of the Kingdom.
Cordial and friendly relations between Sri Lanka and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia go back to centuries. This relationship has been recorded in history beginning with the arrival of Arab traders to Sri Lanka in the 7th Century for trade activities when Sri Lanka was known in the Arab world as “Seylan” or “Serendib.” Arab traders made use of several seaports of the island and settled mainly in coastal areas. Due to long stay and intimate coexistence, they mixed with Sri Lankan society through marriages. This resulted in the growing of considerable number of Muslim community in the population of Sri Lanka who are followers of Islam, the religion of the people of Saudi Arabia; thus, initiating cultural relations between Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, which has developed to the existing levels.
The government and the people of Sri Lanka would be ever grateful to the government and the people of the Kingdom for their generous donations in cash and kind as well as post Tsunami rehabilitation work undertaken in Sri Lanka following Tsunami catastrophe.
Two major donor agencies in KSA established under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, namely, Saudi Charity Campaign (SCC) and Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), have granted financial assistance to Sri Lanka. The SCC has completed a housing project of 500 housing units last year in the eastern province of Sri Lanka for Tsunami victims. Moreover, the SFD has enthusiastically been funding a Neuro Trauma Project and also planning to fund for an Epilepsy hospital project in Colombo National Hospital.
Saudi Arabia shelters approximately over 500,000 Sri Lankan expatriates which is the largest number of expatriate community of Sri Lanka who dwell in a foreign soil. I extend my sincere appreciation and gratitude for their invaluable contribution toward the economy of our country. On behalf of the Embassy of Sri Lanka I assure our continued support toward their welfare and protection during their employment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
On this historic day, let me pay my respect to all our national heroes who sacrificed their lives in order to achieve freedom for our country.
We celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka with a remarkable event of recapturing the east and restoring the entire administrative control of the eastern province by the government of Sri Lanka ushering a new era of peace and prosperity to our motherland.
The government of Sri Lanka under the valiant leadership of His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa has taken various effective measures in order to restore permanent peace in Sri Lanka and to introduce a lasting solution to the ethnic conflict, so that all citizens of Sri Lanka could exercise their power equally through elected representatives within the framework of a United Sri Lanka.
I am optimistic in anticipating a permanent peace in Sri Lanka in the very near future though it would not be an easy task. On this special day, I request Sri Lankans at all levels to share this noble wish with a sense of accountability “to have achieved sustainable peace and established law and order while envisaging an end to terrorism thereby paving way to economic development in our tiny land enabling its people to commemorate the next anniversary of Independence even more jubilantly.”
May prosperity dawn for all communities in Sri Lanka!
W.S.M.S. Wijesundara
Charge d’Affaires