Asian Development Bank (ADB) Director General for South Asia Department Kenichi Yokoyama has assured President Gotabaya Rajapaksa that the ADB will support the promotion of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided a $ 750 million concessional loan last year for projects in Sri Lanka. Mr. Yokoyama said that the ADB will take steps to increase that amount to $ 1 billion next year.

The Director General made these remarks when he met with President Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat, today (05).

Mr. Yokoyama further noted that the success of the COVID-19 vaccination drive demonstrates Sri Lanka’s ability to overcome challenges.

The President pointed out that the entire public service and the health and security sectors had worked together to make the vaccination programme and the COVID eradication process a success.

The government’s objective is to reduce the use of fossil fuels and move towards the use of renewable energy sources. A number of solar and wind power generation projects have been planned for this purpose. The government has also taken a policy decision to use organic fertilizer. The President also requested for Mr. Yokoyama’s intervention to provide technical assistance for the production of organic fertilizer and nitrogen extraction.

The Government’s aim is to uplift the income and living standards of those who make up 90% of the rural population that are engaged in agriculture. The President also pointed out the need to increase the forest cover through economically viable cultivations and sought the assistance of the Asian Development Bank.

Asian Development Bank Country Director Chen Chen, Deputy Director Utsav Kumar, Secretary to the President P. B. Jayasundera and Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga were also present.

Moves will be taken to start schools promptly in accordance with the health guidelines so as to minimise the damage caused to students, Education and Higher Education Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said.

He added that most of the schools can probably be started this month under the moves taken by the Ministry. Under the first phase, the schools, which have up to 200 students, will reopen.

The Minister was inaugurating the construction of the Maharagama Madiwela Rural People's Fair on Saturday on his decentralised allocations in Parliament at the request of the people of the area including the Madiwala Community Council to provide the public the opportunity to sell non-toxic vegetables, fruits and self-employment products.

Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage said the Government has planned to provide Nadu rice at Rs.98 per kilo to consumers soon.

“The consumer cannot be allowed to be exploited further by the rice mill-owners of this country.

We have planned to set up five large scale rice mills in five selected Administrative Districts under government patronage to end the rice monopoly created by few leading rice mill owners here.

He said that his Ministry has already made arrangements to set up large scale nurseries to produce quality seeds of different crops for farmers.

“About 52 types of seed varieties are now imported for our farmers, spending Rs.300 million annually,” he said.

He was of the view that the country can save money by producing seeds locally for crops.

“However, the Trade Ministry has now taken steps to import 1,000 metric tonnes of rice to meet the present rice shortage in the country now. Our responsibility is to help the farmers to stand as a community of wealthy and healthy lot in the future,” he said.

Sri Lanka spends US$ 9 million a year to import herbal plants such as Aralu and Bulu required for indigenous medicine .

Experts point out that although there are enough medicinal plants in Sri Lanka such as Aralu, Bulu and Nelli used in Ayurvedic and Indigenous medicine, Sri Lanka spends around US$ 9 million a year to import them from India.

These facts were revealed at a meeting of the Presidential Task Force on Green Economy with Solutions to Climate Change held at the Environment Ministry last week.

The Task Force proposed a comprehensive plan to be implemented in the country to ensure that these plants can be grown in all parts of Sri Lanka.

Task Force Chairman, Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera stated that under the National Tree Planting Programme implemented by the Environment Ministry, a programme will be initiated to cultivate these trees in the forest areas as well as on road sides.

Although there are medicinal plants such as Aralu and Bulu in almost all parts of the country at present there is no programme in place to collect them in a systematic manner, the Minister said. “We do not need to import such local medicines from India.There are enough resources in the country but there is no formal programme in this regard and such a programme could be initiated in consultation with the Indigenous Medicine Ministry,”he said.

The Nilgala forest has a large number of such medicinal plants and the Task Force will take steps to cultivate such plants in other forest areas as well, he said.

He also pointed out that one of the reasons for the damage to food crops by wild animals is the lack of enough fruit trees in the forests to feed them. Therefore, the Presidential Task Force could initiate a programme to plant more fruit trees such as Etamba and Valu Amba in the forests, the Minister said. 

Minister of Mass Media Dulles Alahapperuma said that if a person with a media accreditation identity card is taken into custody due to some offence, by the Police, the Director General of Department of Government Information should be informed compulsorily with immediate effect.

The Minister said further that the IGP has already been informed about this.

He said he will ensure that no journalists will be summoned by the CID and inconvenienced in the future although it did happen recently. Alahapperuma on said that every possible step will be taken to build a new media culture to empower media personnel and strengthen the field of media.

The Minister made this comment on Thursday evening during a discussion held at the Media Ministry with the Editors’ Guild of Sri Lanka. Realizing the importance of establishing a higher education institute for journalism on behalf of developing professional skills of media personnel, initial work on it has already commenced.

Such an institute exists for almost every sector including doctors and lawyers and the Editors’ Guild pointed out that there is no such institute for journalists.

“When transforming a journalist into a chartered journalist, his/her qualifications as well as period of service, training and experience is taken into consideration and once the determined standard is reached a chartered certificate will be awarded and this is currently under discussion”, he said.

It was mentioned on this occasion that there is an opportunity available to propose one person representing the Editors’ Guild for the committee which is working on creating a higher education mass media institute.The Minister pointed out the importance of updating the Sri Lanka Press Council Law No. 5 of 1973, taking into consideration the recent developments and trends in the field of mass media and bringing in amendments.

The Editors’ Guild said that it is suitable to set up a different mechanism for social media networks and electronic media. The procedure of amending the Press Council Law has commenced already and the Minister said he hopes to obtain the views of the Guild about it.

Minister Alahapperuma said further that insurance for journalists will be formalized and within three months, about 3000 journalists will be provided with insurance cover. The Minister requested newspaper editors to be sensitive when writing about the disabled community’s problems and the Editors’ Guild expressed their agreement.

The Editors’ Guild has earlier issued a statement condemning the move by the CID to question several journalists over their reporting on the garlic scam.

It is an imperative duty of all human beings to give priority to the protection of the rights of the child. Recalling that duty, I am pleased to pen down this message to commemorate the International Children's Day celebrated by Sri Lanka on 1st of October every year.
Children are nation's future & tomorrow's citizens. Their world is much prettier than the world of adults. It is our responsibility to provide the harmony and peace they deserve to their world without hindrance.
We as a government is always committed to uphold the right of children to have their best interests be a primary consideration in all matters involving or affecting them. We are confident that a generation of virtuous children will dispel the darkness of the future. We have also pledged to do so through the Vistas of Prosperity and Splendour policy statement. Accordingly, in the recent past, we have amended several laws to make schooling compulsory and to eliminate child slavery from society.
As in other parts of the world, the childhood of children in our country has become extremely frustrating due to the Covid-19 epidemic. It is no secret that children are deprived of the freedom to run around and are trapped in homes. Therefore, I urge parents and adults to take care of their children at home so that they do not suffer mental distress at a time when there is a global pandemic.
Covid-19 vaccination for children has already commenced under our government giving the precedence to children with special needs.
It is commendable that the Department of Probation and Child Care Services in collaboration with the State Ministry of Women and Child Development, Pre-School & Primary Education, School Infrastructure & School Services have provided the opportunity to launch children's creations on the occasion of World Children's Day.
Under the theme "Children First of All", I urge everyone to dedicate in achieving the objectives of World Children's Day meaningfully.
We shall make the world of children beautiful !!

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa attended the special commemorative event organized in front of the Manhattan Memorial in the United States to mark the 20th anniversary of terrorist attacks in Washington and New York.

Sri Lanka proposed to establish a Regional Knowledge Hub in Colombo in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), to facilitate exchange of lessons learnt from COVID 19 and support countries to build back better.

Speaking at the 76th Session of United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 22, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said although still a developing nation, Sri Lanka has been very successful in its vaccination programme.

“We have already fully vaccinated nearly all those above the age of 30. Everyone over the age of 20 will be fully vaccinated by the end of October. We will start vaccinating children over 15 years of age in the near future. The rapid progress of vaccinations was enabled by coordinated efforts between healthcare workers, Armed Forces and Police personnel, Government servants, and elected officials,” he said.

Sri Lanka also benefitted greatly from financial and material support provided by bilateral and multilateral donors to manage the pandemic, he said and thanked those nations and institutions for their generosity. He added that the increased global cooperation visible during this ongoing crisis is greatly encouraging.

The President stressed that economic impact of the pandemic has been especially severe on developing countries. This has placed the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals at considerable risk. “It is vital that more initiatives including development financing and debt relief be adopted through international mechanisms to support developing nations and help them emerge from this uncertain situation.”

As devastating as the consequences of the pandemic have been to humanity, the world faces the even greater challenge of climate change in the decades to come, President Rajapaksa said. As a climate-vulnerable country, Sri Lanka is deeply aware of the dangers of climate change.

The President said Sri Lanka’s philosophical heritage, deeply rooted in the Buddha’s teachings, also emphasises the vitality of preserving environmental integrity.

Speech of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at 76^th UN General Assembly – New York, September 22, 2021

Mr. President,

Secretary General,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Ayubowan.

I am honoured to represent Sri Lanka at this august gathering today.

Let me first congratulate His Excellency Abdulla Shahid on being elected President of the 76^th session of the General Assembly.

Mr. President, you have long been a friend of Sri Lanka. We look forward to working closely with you in the year ahead.

I also take this opportunity to convey our appreciation of His Excellency Volkan Bozkir’s stewardship of the previous session of the General Assembly, and to commend Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his leadership in these difficult times.

Mr. President, The COVID19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on humanity.

I sympathise deeply with all who have lost their loved ones during the pandemic.

I thank frontline healthcare and essential workers around the world for their dedication and commend the World Health Organisation for its crisis response. I also greatly appreciate the rapid advances made by the scientific and medical communities in devising vaccines and treatment protocols to combat the virus.

At the same time, we must recognise that the challenges surrounding production, distribution, deployment and acceptance of vaccines must be overcome urgently if the spread of dangerous new virus strains is to be prevented.  Ensuring that everyone, everywhere, is vaccinated is the best way out of the pandemic.

Although still a developing nation, Sri Lanka has been very successful in its vaccination programme.

We have already fully vaccinated nearly all those above the age of 30. Everyone over the age of 20 will be fully vaccinated by the end of October. We will start vaccinating children over 15 years of age in the near future.

The rapid progress of vaccinations was enabled by coordinated efforts between healthcare workers, Armed Forces and Police personnel, Government servants, and elected officials.

In collaboration with the WHO, Sri Lanka is establishing a Regional Knowledge Hub to facilitate exchange of lessons learnt from COVID 19 and support countries to recover back better.

Sri Lanka also benefitted greatly from financial and material support provided by bilateral and multilateral donors to manage the pandemic. I thank these nations and institutions for their generosity. The increased global cooperation visible during this ongoing crisis is greatly encouraging. However, there is still more to be done.

Mr. President, The economic impact of the pandemic has been especially severe on developing countries. This has placed the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals at considerable risk.

It is vital that more initiatives including development financing and debt relief be adopted through international mechanisms to support developing nations and help them emerge from this uncertain situation.

Sri Lanka too has suffered greatly due to the pandemic. In addition to the tragic loss of life, our economy has been deeply affected. The lockdowns, together with general movement restrictions, reduced international travel, and slower global growth have affected nearly all sectors of our economy. Tourism, one of Sri Lanka’s highest foreign exchange earners and a sector that supports nearly 14% of the population, has been devastated.

This industry, together with small and medium businesses in many other sectors, received Government support through interest moratoriums and other financial sector interventions.

Daily wage earners and low-income groups were also supported through grants of cash and dry rations during lockdowns, adding significantly to state expenditure.

In addition to their immediate impact, these economic repercussions of the pandemic have limited the fiscal space available to implement our development programmes.

Mr. President, As devastating as the consequences of the pandemic have been to humanity, the world faces the even greater challenge of climate change in the decades to come.

As emphasised in the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the unprecedented effect of human activity on the health of the planet is deeply worrying.

Addressing the grave threats posed by climate change and the loss of biodiversity requires decisive and urgent multilateral action.

As a climate-vulnerable country, Sri Lanka is deeply aware of the dangers of climate change.

Sri Lanka’s philosophical heritage, deeply rooted in Lord Buddha’s teachings, also emphasises the vitality of preserving environmental integrity.

It is in these contexts that Sri Lanka is a Commonwealth Blue Charter Champion and leads the Action Group on Mangrove Restoration.

Through the adoption of the Colombo Declaration on Sustainable Nitrogen Management, which seeks to halve nitrogen waste by 2030, Sri Lanka has also contributed to global efforts to reduce environmental pollution.

Having participated virtually in the Pre-Summit held in April, I trust that the United Nations Food Summit later this month will result in actionable outcomes to promote healthier, more sustainable, and equitable food systems globally.

Such outcomes will be crucial to human health as well as to the health of our planet.

Sustainability is a cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s national policy framework.

Because of its impact on soil fertility, biodiversity, waterways and health, my Government completely banned the use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and weedicides earlier this year.

Production and adoption of organic fertiliser, as well as investments into organic agriculture, are being incentivised.

I appreciate the encouragement received from many global institutions and nations for our efforts to create a more sustainable agriculture in Sri Lanka.

The conservation of our environment is one of our key national priorities.

We aim to increase forest cover significantly in the coming decades.

We are also working to clean and restore over 100 rivers countrywide, and to combat river and maritime pollution.

We have also banned single use plastics to support ecological conservation.

Sri Lanka recognises the urgent need to reduce use of fossil fuels and support decarbonisation.

Our energy policy seeks to increase the contribution of renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydropower to 70% of our national energy needs by 2030.

Mr. President, Sri Lanka welcomes the support of the international community as it engages in the task of reviving its economy and carrying out its national development programme.

We intend to make full use of geostrategic location and our robust institutions, strong social infrastructure, and skilled workforce, to attract investment and broaden trade relationships.

My Government is focusing on extensive legal, regulatory, administrative and educational reforms to facilitate this, and to deliver prosperity to all our people.

Sri Lanka has enjoyed universal adult franchise since pre-Independence.

The democratic tradition is an integral part of our way of life.

My election in 2019 and the Parliamentary election in 2020 saw Sri Lankan voters grant an emphatic mandate to my Government to build a prosperous and stable country, and uphold national security and sovereignty.

In 2019, Sri Lanka experienced the devastation wrought by extremist religious terrorists in the Easter Sunday attacks.

Before that, until 2009, it had suffered from a separatist terrorist war for 30 years.

Terrorism is a global challenge that requires international cooperation, especially on matters such as intelligence sharing, if it is to be overcome.

Violence robbed Sri Lanka of thousands of lives and decades of prosperity in the past half century. My Government is committed to ensuring that such violence never takes place in Sri Lanka again. We are therefore acting to address the core issues behind it.

Fostering greater accountability, restorative justice, and meaningful reconciliation through domestic institutions is essential to achieve lasting peace.

So too is ensuring more equitable participation in the fruits of economic development.

It is my Government’s firm intention to build a prosperous, stable and secure future for all Sri Lankans, regardless of ethnicity, religion, or gender.

We are ready to engage with all domestic stakeholders, and to obtain the support of our international partners and the United Nations, in this process.

However, history has shown that lasting results can only be achieved through home-grown institutions reflecting the aspirations of the people.

Sri Lanka’s Parliament, Judiciary and its range of independent statutory bodies should have unrestricted scope to exercise their functions and responsibilities.

Mr. President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates.

If, in keeping with the theme of our General Debate today, we are to truly build resilience through hope, we must all strive towards the common good.

It is the role of the United Nations to facilitate this by treating all sovereign states, irrespective of size or strength, equitably, and with due respect for their institutions and their heritage.

I request the United Nations and the international community to ensure the protection of the Buddhist heritage of Afghanistan.

I call on the member states of this august Assembly to work together in a spirit of true cooperation, generosity, goodwill, and mutual respect to foster a better and more sustainable future for all humanity.

Thank you.

CICA has a vital role to play and can render yeoman service
under the current circumstances, states Foreign Minister Peiris

Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris stated that the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) has a vital role to play and can render yeoman service under the current circumstances to all its Member and Observer States, when the Executive Director of CICA Kairat Sarybay paid a courtesy call on the Minister in New York.

Minister Peiris emphasized that the work of CICA should be guided by its common objectives with focus being on the major challenges faced by its membership. The Government of Sri Lanka is committed to support the organization and believes that CICA would be able to offer the world many useful insights. The Minister also highlighted that all 27 Member States have robust institutions and sharing experiences and expertise would be an advantage as the world endeavors to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cooperation in the fields of infrastructure, education, vocational training, environmental issues, mitigating rural poverty, value-added exports and renewable energy are areas that CICA could vigorously pursue, stated the Foreign Minister. On the environmental front, he acknowledged that economic development at the cost of the environment is not sustainable and outlined the steps taken by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to promote a green economy with the shift from chemical based fertilizers to organic ones. Minister Peiris also reiterated that while it is important for countries to increase their GDP, it should be done in a manner that ensures equitable distribution and that the benefits trickle down to all communities, in particular the rural communities.

Executive Director Sarybay briefed the Minister on the activities of CICA and outlined its plans to establish a Council of Eminent Persons and the arrangements being made for the Ministerial meeting in October 2021. He stated that CICA would do its utmost to build confidence among the Member States. He believed this would lead to greater dialogue and cooperation resulting in enhanced development and security in the region. He appreciated the leading role played by Sri Lanka in offering expertise, particularly in the tourism sector at senior officials meetings, interactive sessions and other activities organized by CICA. 

The Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) was established in 1992 and is a multi-national forum for enhancing cooperation towards promoting peace, security and stability in Asia. It is comprised of 27 Member States, 9 Observer States and 5 Observer organizations. Sri Lanka gained Observer status of CICA in 2012 and full membership in 2018.

Foreign Ministry
Colombo
21 September 2021

The President’s Spokesman Kingsley Rathnayake in a Twitter message said the quarantine curfew currently in effect across the island has been extended until 4.00 a.m. on October 1st. He said that the decision was taken during the meeting of the special committee on Covid-19 control, chaired by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa this morning. This was also confirmed by Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella, who tweeted that ‘conditional lockdown’ will continue until October 01.
However, the minister said the government essential services impacting the economy will be allowed to function, adding that conditions are to be notified soon. He urged the public to adhere to the health regulations and to use this time to get vaccinated.

Foreign Secretary Admiral (Prof.) Jayanath Colombage