Govt.in close ties with China

Special Assignment Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama today said Sri Lanka was maintaining close diplomatic ties with both India and China and that most of the Chinese funded projects were carried out by the government.

Dr. Amunugama said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was planning to visit China in April and have discussions with the Chinese President and Prime Minister.

“It is wrong to claim that the government has ruined the diplomatic ties with china. We are maintaining close ties with China and India,” he said.

Referring to President Maithripala Sirisena’s visit to Germany, Dr. Amunugama said it was a crucial visit to the Sri Lankan economy as it would help us to find an international market for local products, which was the best alternative.

Dr. Amunugama said Sri Lanka as a country was not in a position to obtain loans as we had obtained loans to the maximum level.

“Today we are not given loans or not in a position to obtain loans. We have reached the maximum level of obtaining loans. We have had to find alternative methods and the best alternative is to obtain better prices for our exports. We were unable to implement that strategy for the last 10 years due to the war and the failure of the government’s foreign policy,’ he said.

Dr. Amunugama said the exporters were deprived of due privileges of the European Council because of the previous government’s failed foreign policy.

“We lost GSP+ due to the failed foreign policy of the government. It was a huge blow to our fisheries trade and garment industry,” he said. (Ajith Siriwardena)

Video by Buddhi

Pix by Pradeep Pathirana