On this auspicious occasion I extend fraternal greetings to the Sri Lankan expatriate community in Saudi Arabia.

The years after 2009 when Sri Lanka finally emerged victorious in its long battle against terrorism have been dedicated by the government of His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa to nation building in all its aspects.

This year will surely be no exception and in it Sri Lankan expatriates play a crucial role.

Given its fame as an island of legendary beauty, it is unsurprising that tourism constitutes one of the core areas of exponential growth in Sri Lanka-Saudi relations.

In 2011, 15,081 Saudi tourists made the island their destination, recording an overall increase of 62.1 percent when compared to the previous year.

Even greater inflows are anticipated this year.

We consider tourism to be in the forefront of people to people contact, and the embassy has therefore streamlined the procedure by the introduction of a fast track system for issuance of tourist visas.

Sri Lanka has an excellent mix of tourist attractions — its lush green hill country side, the fabled turquoise waters that wash its golden beaches, combined with a 2500 year old history, recorded in brick and stone, the island has been known to Arabs for many centuries.

The writings of Ibn Battutah, the 14th century Moroccan traveler describe so picturesquely the island’s beauty and the charm of its people.

While already established hotels expand to cater to rising demand, new hotel chains such as Shangrilla and Movenpick are going ahead with plans to set up operations in the country.

Major development work in the eastern coast will make Sri Lanka a year round destination.

Air connectivity between our two countries is excellent with seven flights by SriLankan Airlines and five by Saudi Arabian Airlines weekly, making the destination reachable from Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam in a short time span of five hours.

Given the rising demand, the embassy has been successful in making progress with the proposal to have an extra flight for SriLankan Airlines to Riyadh from April of this year.

2011 was a particularly good year in enhancing our bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia with six important visits taking place.

They included those of the Minister of Industry and Commerce, Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Welfare, Minister of Justice, Senior Minister for Good Governance and Infrastructure, Senior Minister for Urban Development, Deputy Minister of Power and Energy, Deputy Minister of Technology and Research and the Governor of the Western Province.

The famous Ceylon tea is extremely popular with the Saudi community and it is unsurprising that it constitutes 45 percent of our exports to this country. Fresh fruits, vegetables, rubber products and apparels are the other leading exports that have also found a niche. The embassy plans to launch a promotional program aimed at expanding the portfolio and volume of our exports in 2012. As part of this exercise, Saudi Arabian importers are welcome to visit the “Sri Lanka EXPO 2012” to be held in Colombo from 28th to 30th of March. I invite the Saudi business community to benefit from Free Trade Agreements Sri Lanka has signed with India and Pakistan, permitting the manufacture in Sri Lanka and export of 4500 products on zero duty tariff to each of these countries, consisting a combined populace of over 1.3 billion.

Sri Lanka’s economy has shown a remarkable resilience by achieving a growth rate of 8.3 percent in 2011 and is projected to grow by 8.0 percent this year. Foreign direct investment inflows for 2011 was $1.0 billion and is expected to increase to $2.0 billion this year. Guided by the “Mahinda Chinthana”, the policy statement of the government, special emphasis has been placed to provide a package of attractive incentives to foreign investors, while encouraging local exporters to increase productivity and quality. With per capita income increasing to US$ 2830, Sri Lanka is now a middle-income country.

Over 350,000 of our nationals work in Saudi Arabia in various positions. Many of them have been here for a considerable period of time in the top echelons of management. It is indeed a pleasure for me to hear of their contribution to the local economy in an outstanding manner.

To be of service to our citizens constitutes an important aspect of the mission statement of my embassy. With this in mind, consular services are provided to Sri Lankan expatriates both at the mission and through a monthly “Mobile Service” in the Eastern Province. Similarly the Sri Lankan consulate general’s office in Jeddah provides such services in Madinah, Abha, Najran, Jazan, Tabuk and Yanbu. As an added measure both the embassy and the consulate general’s office are open to the community for consular requirements on Thursdays.

Sri Lankan pilgrims have been performing Haj from time immemorial. I convey my appreciation to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for graciously making all conveniences for 3800 of our people to fulfill the fifth obligation of Islam.

On this memorable occasion of Sri Lanka’s 64th Independence Day, I express my deep appreciation for the friendship and cooperation so readily extended by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the government and people of Saudi Arabia in improving relations between our two countries. Together, we shall surely bend the arch of the future toward further improving our ties in the years to come.