Take Lanka to the world

The British public is being regaled and invigorated by Sri Lankan tea and much more on offer at the local tourism, trade and culture promotion event now on in London titled "Refreshingly Sri Lanka." According to reports coming in, the event is a big draw with Lankan cultural events proving no less an attraction than Lankan tea.

Events such as "Refreshingly Sri Lanka" are a positive projection to the world of Sri Lanka's diverse attractions and assets and we hope such events would be held wherever possible in the world to speed-up interaction between Sri Lanka and the rest of the world. Yesterday, we pointed to the resilience of the Lankan economy and the biased reports about it in some media quarters which have led to the formation of an erroneous, negative impression in some minds about the state of the economy.

However, the truth is that Lanka is forging ahead on the economic front, despite obstacles in the form of terrorism, oil shocks and the considerable cost of living. In other words, Sri Lanka is by no means in the doldrums.

Events and programmes on the lines of "Refreshingly Sri Lanka", could help in putting the record straight on the real situation in Sri Lanka. It is true that Sri Lanka is up against some challenges but she is by no means overwhelmed by them. Despite them, Lanka's economy has remained buoyant and recorded a growth rate of seven per cent.

Besides, she continues to call visitors to her shores from all over the world through her natural beauty, diverse cultural delights and her ever-radiant people. The London event has effectively conveyed this message to the world and we hope programmes of this kind would be held all over the world to strengthen Lanka's image abroad as a land of great promise and delights.

Lanka possesses a rich diversity in unity and this too must be impressed on the world. Diversity is not only found in a geographical, ecological and topographical sense but also in an ethnic and cultural sense. Lanka is a land of multiple attractions and varied appeals and this aspect is one of her most treasured assets. The world must know about it.

Accordingly, we call on the State to galvanize itself into action to take the message of Sri Lanka's resplendence to the diverse regions of the world. Lanka is a country on the move and this overriding impression should be created in the minds of the world public.

As we see it, this is a task for a number of State sector bodies, such as the Foreign, Tourism, Trade and Cultural Affairs Ministries. They all need to put in a coordinated effort to convey to the world the truth about Sri Lanka.

We, however, do not intend to underestimate the current problems facing Sri Lanka by calling for a global-wide positive projection of the country. We need to be guided by a spirit of realism but also recognise the truth that a country could forge ahead despite these obstacles.

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