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| Thursday, 2 September 2004 |
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Country's prosperity depends on economy - German envoy The prosperity of this country depends on the economy, which is the backbone in solving conflict, said the Chief Guest and patron of the German Business Council Juergen Weerth, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany. He was addressing the Annual General Meeting of the Sri Lanka - Germany Business Council recently.
The ambassador told the gathering that if the economy is uplifted then the people will be less interested in conflict. He said that he had spoken to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and several Ministers about the conflict, which has been raging for 20 years with no solution in view. He had urged the Government and the LTTE to negotiate on the ceasefire for the well-being of the country as it affects key areas of income such as tourism. As a member of the European Union he will support Sri Lanka in the peace process. He also said that if the peace does not prevail, the international community will loose interest in Sri Lanka, as it is not a key player in the world economy. The president H. A. Reuter said that the highlights of the year were the Sri Lanka-Germany Business Promotion and Investment Fair held in November last year and the delegation from the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce and Leipzig. Trade had been in favour of Sri Lanka and exports had increased by 16.7% from Rs. 18.9 billion in 2002 to Rs. 22.1 billion in 2003 and up to date Germany has signed agreements for 121 projects amounting to Rs.11.6 billion. The Council comprises sixty companies from diverse sectors promoting trade and services as well as promoting exports from Sri Lanka to Germany. |
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