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by Chandani Jayatilleke

The best times of Sri Lanka - Israel economic and diplomatic relations are ahead, says the Israel Ambassador to Sri Lanka David Matnai, who is based in Bangkok, Thailand. Mr. Matnai is also the Israel Ambassodar to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. In a mission to renew diplomatic contacts with the new Government officials, Mr. Matnai visited Colombo recently. Matnai, born in Egypt, in a way, also a refugee who moved to Israel, and joined the diplomatic service in 1963 and his first assignment as a diplomat was to Sri Lanka. Mr. Matnai shared his experiences with the Daily News as a diplomat in the island. Following are excerpts from the interview:

Question: How do you explain the present diplomatic and trade relations between Sri Lanka and Israel?

Answer: This is my third time to have appointed as a diplomat to Sri Lanka. I first came here in 1965 when there was a diplomatic office of Israel which was set up in 1958. I stayed here till 1969 and in 1970, the Sri Lanka's Government decided to suspend relations.

Once again, in 1984, we tried to negotiate the renewal of relations and opearted an interests section (not a diplomatic section) within the US Embassy. I was not there physically but, part of the Embassy was based in other locality. My stay was confined to six months as the Lanka Oberoi Hotel where I had been staying was bombed in June 1984.

Late last year, the Sri Lanka's Government decided to establish full diplomatic relations and appointed a Sri Lankan Ambassador in Israel. The Israel Government decided to appoint a non-resident ambassador in return. Since I am the current ambassador in Thailand and also considering my past experiences in Colombo, my Government assigned me to oversee Sri Lanka as well. Followingly, I presented my credentials last year. But, I didn't get an opportunity to have my regular meetings with the officials concerned, as there was an election and a change of the Government immediately. This vist was to revive my diplomatic contacts and to have my regular meetings with Government officials.

As far as economic relations are concerned I don't think we should wait for diplomatic relations to begin economic cooperation. The economic relations between the two countries have begun many years ago. Israeli traders had been here before we started any diplomatic relations. In the water management sector, we have much experiences with Sri Lanka, as the country which introduced 'tube wells' to Sri Lanka. There were Israeli experts working in tube well projects in Puttalam, salt projects in Elephant Pass and agriculture projects in Ampara and Uda Walawe in the 60s.

But, after the relations was suspended, they left. We didn't have any conflicts with Sri Lanka. But, it was due to Sri Lanka's commitments for non-aligned organisation.

Q: What is Israel's role in developing contacts in Asia?

A: For Israel, it is very important to develop economic ties with Asian countries. In Asia, people (consumers) are quality and price concious. So, we believe that Asia can be a good market for our products. We also import many items including cars from Asian countries such as Japan.

Q: What opportunities lie ahead for Sri Lanka and Israel as far as trade and tourism relations are concerned?

A: Our trade with Sri Lanka is less than US$100 million per year. But, we have to start somewhere and this start is positive. As a diplomat, I can only promote business cooperation. We should work together with the Sri Lanka Embassy in Israel to further improve business activities.

Tourism is another potential area that Sri Lanka can develop with Israeli assistance. We want Sri Lanka to aggressively promote its tourism in Israel and let Israeli people discover Lanka's beauty. In general, there are about one hundred thousand tourists visiting Thailand every year. Israel's national career flies to Bangkok four times a week. If one third of these tourists stop in Colombo, your tourist arrivals will increase by another 30,000. As far as I know, there is no reason as to why they shouldn't stop in Colombo. I've spoken to Sri Lanka's tourism authorities on promoting tourism by way of setting up a Tourist board office in Israel.

Another way to promote tourism between the two countries is creating peace in the Middle East. That will also allow Israelis to come to Sri Lanka via Beirut. For instance, from Colombo there are flights to Amman. Potential Israeli tourists can fly to Amman which is a half hour flight and get a flight to Colombo.

Q:What are your views on the current peace process in Sri Lanka, in comparison to the problem in Israel?

A:We cannot accept terrorism of any kind. We yearn to see peace dawn and it prevails. The problem in Sri Lanka is different from the Middle East problem - the Israeli/Palastine problem. Sri Lanka's newspapers said that even the LTTE is ready to negotiate with the Government to find a political solution to the issue.

I wish that all Palastinians and Arabs thought in the same lines. Sri Lanka is one country. Therefore, the negotiations should focus on how the different communities will live in harmony in this country. In our case, it is a political issue of recognition and definition of borders which is a complicated issue.

Sri Lanka Government and the LTTE have already taken a mammoth step in agreeing to hold talks. At present, the country is going through a peace process brokered by the Norwegian Government. There is no violence here; roads to Jaffna are opened and businesses are thriving between the North/East and the South. It's a good sign of peace.

Q: How could Israel support Sri Lanka's development projects in the future?

A:We would like to assist Sri Lanka by way of expert and consultancy services. But, Sri Lanka has to specify what their needs are; what their priorities are; and in which areas they need expert services etc.. We can work on a planned agenda thereafter. Both countries can organise business delegations in trade, investment and tourism sectors to further improve our relations.

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