28 July 2016 04:53 pm
Sri Lanka will seek more Indian assistance to develop its health sector including the indigenous medicine sector, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said today.
Speaking at the inauguration of the emergency pre-hospital care ambulance service at the Galle Face Green in Colombo, the Prime Minister said Indian assistance could be extended towards the indigenous medicine sector as well.
“We will seek more assistance from India to develop the health sector. India has already assured construction of two hospitals in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka will obtain dialysis machines from India. We should remember that indigenous medicine came to Sri Lanka from India. We can use India as a role model for the development of indigenous medicine and launch an Indo-Lanka joint programme to develop indigenous medicine,” he said.
The Prime Minister said in the Sri Lankan vocabulary helping the sick is a meritorious deed.
"Therefore what we have seen today is such a deed. This meritorious deed has been performed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I asked him whether India could assist Sri Lanka to start up a pre-hospital care ambulance service. He obliged immediately,” he said adding that the biggest meritorious deed according to Buddhism and Hinduism was looking after the sick.
The Prime Minister recalled that the Sri Lankan people were engaged in business with India long before the Indo-Lanka trade pact came into being.
“The ancient kings did not prohibit trade pacts with India. If there was a prohibition, Tappasu and Balluka would have not come to Sri Lanka. One should be aware of all these factors and make use of Indo Lanka relations,” he stressed. Finally he said those who criticized the pre emergency care ambulance service today would praise it in the near future. (Yohan Perera)
Video byu Buddhi