High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

Sri Lanka is commemorating the International Migrant’s Day on 18^th December 2011, on an elaborate scale under the theme “Dirisariya –Let’s appreciate migrant workers, the heroes of our economy”.

The main purpose of the celebrations, scheduled on this day, is to highlight among the general public the importance of the contribution made to the Sri Lankan economy by our citizens who are working abroad under difficult conditions. It is expected that the educational and awareness raising programmes arranged would help increase appreciation and respect for migrant workers.

While the celebrations are scheduled to take place Islandwide, the Colombo District event begins at 8.30 a.m. at the Presidential Secretariat. This event will be graced by His Excellency the President and includes the issuance of a First Day stamp cover as well as the issuance of Migrant Card, which combines the data of a migrant worker and a debit card and a Migration Walk with the participation of about 2,000 from the migration community and a vehicle parade with educational floats.

Lieutenant-General Jagath Jayasuriya, Commander of the Sri Lanka army, on Saturday exhorted the passing out Gentlemen Cadets (GC) at the Indian Military Academy (IMA) here to continuously endeavour to achieve excellence so as to accomplish all tasks and earn the respect and loyalty of the men and women they would be commanding.

“Remember that through excellent leadership qualities taught at the IMA you will not only be able to lead your men anywhere but also command the respect of their families and the nation,” General Jayasuriya said after reviewing an excellent passing-out parade of 615 Gentlemen Cadets and eight Foreign Gentlemen Cadets.

The nation had vested immense trust in the young officers and now it was their task to uphold the confidence shown through actions aimed at safeguarding the safety, dignity and honour of the people they were supposed to protect at all times, Gen. Jayasuriya said.

He congratulated the parents of the cadets for having sent their wards into a very noble service and the IMA staff for having imparted the best of training required by future military leaders.

Thanking the Indian government and the Army for having given him the rare opportunity to review the passing out parade of this prestigious institution, Gen. Jayasuriya said the magnanimous gesture reflected the strong bonds enjoyed by the Indian and Sri Lankan armies.

He is the first Sri Lanka Army Commander to review the parade.

The Sri Lanka High Commission in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the National Crafts Council of Sri Lanka, organized an exhibition of a modest collection of replicas of ancient rock and wall paintings of Sri Lanka.

The exhibition was inaugurated on 2 December at the ICCR Gallery in New Delhi by Director General of ICCR, Suresh Goel in the presence of Minister of Indigenous Medicine Salinda Dissanayake, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka Prasad Kariyawasam and members of the diplomatic corps.

Speaking at the event, the Director General of ICCR stated that the hosting of the exhibition in New Delhi portraying the rich heritage of Sri Lankan rock and wall paintings is a manifestation of the friendship that continues to flourish between the two countries.

High Commissioner Kariyawasam gave a brief description of Sri Lanka’s wall painting heritage dating back two thousand years which still continues. Stating that Sri Lankan classical art is an expression of the country’s long and enduring Buddhist tradition, the High Commissioner said that the Indian influence on Sri Lankan art, although significant, has not inhibited the formation of a distinctly Sri Lankan tradition in all forms of art as well as sculpture.

The replicas produced by three Sri Lankan artists, Jagath Jayasooriya, Dilan Sashika and Dhammika Bandara will be on exhibition at the ICCR Gallery at Azad Bhavan until 7 December.

Full text of High Commissioner's Speech:

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as Finance and Planning Minister presented to Parliament today (Nov 21). This is the 65th budget of Sri Lanka since independence and 7th budget presented by the President.

It has a series of proposals to help uplift the socio-economic conditions of the people and the development of the country. It will specially focus on strengthening free education, health services and agriculture. It was prepared with widespread consultation with people of the country.

President Rajapaksa stated that 2012 will record an economic growth of 8%. By maintaining this, the goal of reaching a per-capita income of US$ 4000 will be realized by 2016.

With the implementation of projects such as “Divi Neguma”, inflation has decreased to 5%. The country is self-sufficient in rice production. The rate of unemployment has declined from 8% to 5%, while the population below the poverty line has declined from 15.6% to 8.9%.

The President noted that the Budget 2011 increased the minimum salary of public servants by Rs. 1,200. Due to the removal of salary anomalies, public servants obtained a real increase by Rs. 1500 to Rs. 3000. This budget will give a salary increase of 10% of the basic salary to all public servants and those in the defence sector.

He called up on all members of political parties to eschew personal interests, and to act united on behalf of the country. He added that it was possible to take the country’s economy forward in this manner because the UPFA Government has functioned as a united political party.

Read the Budget Speech 2012