President Mahinda Rajapaksa says agreements signed by the UNP regime with some international airlines had hampered the expansion of Sri Lanka’s national carrier, Sri Lankan airlines.

Addressing a function held at the Central Bank Auditorium in connection with the presentation of the Central Bank 2009 annual report, President Rajapaksa stressed that government must not reach agreements without considering the country and its people.

“The country has faced difficulties due to those agreements. They should have thought about the security and development of the country before signing them. It is like handing over the North-East to the LTTE that betrayed our intelligence wing,” President Rajapaksa said. (SJ)