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A creditable record

These are turbulent times, but that has not apparently deterred investors from establishing major operations in Sri Lanka. Investment Promotion and Enterprise Development Minister Rohitha Bogollagama disclosed in Parliament on Tuesday that US$ 340 million (euro 271 million) flowed into the country for the first eight months of the year.

According to Minister Bogollagama, Sri Lanka expects to attract a record level of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) this year. The FDI flow for the first eight months of the year is already well above last year's FDI total of US$ 285 million (euro 227 million).

The Board of Investment has set a full-year target of US$ 500 million to US$ 600 million. Although this figure is lower than an original forecast of US$ 1 billion (euro 797 million) made at the start of the year, inclusive of a now-delayed US$ 400 million coal power plant by an Indian company, it is still a very creditable achievement given the security situation and negative publicity generated by some inimical quarters that the present Government is not investor-friendly.

The investors seem to have brushed aside such fallacies, placing their faith in a resilient economy which had recorded an eight per cent growth.

The January-August total consisted mostly of investment in telecommunications, garments and business process outsourcing, a combination of the old and the new. This approach is the most suitable one for a developing country like Sri Lanka which needs to uplift existing industries while branching into new avenues of investment.

In fact, more investment in the infrastructure sector is vital to attract foreign investors in larger numbers. It is no secret that many investors have been driven away by the very high electricity rates, itself a result of minimal investment in the power sector over the years.

The Government is taking remedial action in the form of building more plants. A better road network is also needed if we are to persuade more foreign investors to locate their enterprises in areas other than the Western Province and the Free Trade Zones.

It is important to bear in mind that Sri Lanka is not the only pebble on the investment beach. Many other emerging economies in the region are competing for a greater share of the investment pie and some of them do have the added advantage of being conflict-free.

Even though many investors have made the plunge despite the violence in the North-East and elsewhere, lasting peace would spur more foreign companies to start operations here. In this backdrop, The investor community will no doubt hope for a positive result from the planned negotiations process between the Government and the LTTE.

A diplomatic faux pas

The Letters to the Editor pages of newspapers have always provided refuge for those who are harassed by visa officers and other foreign staffers of embassies and high commissions based in Colombo, but an outright assault is rarely heard of. The report we published yesterday under the headline 'visa seeker's father assaulted at Russian Embassy' detailed just such an incident.

This unpardonable act would no doubt be condemned by all right thinking people, not to mention the diplomatic community based here. It is a blot on the good name and image of the majority of foreign diplomats based in Colombo, many of whom go out of their way to assist genuine visa seekers.

The Russian embassy incident leaves a bad taste in the mouth for several reasons. Visa officers and other embassy staffers are living in Sri Lanka, enjoying the hospitality of Sri Lankans. Moreover, all diplomats are literally 'ambassadors' for their countries - they have to project a good image of the home country before the natives of the country they are assigned to.

One wrong action against a native can not only tarnish the image of the diplomat's country, but also ultimately lead to strained relations between the two countries. It is also well-known that an embassy or high commission premises of a given country is treated as that country's territory.

There is an axiom that even an enemy visiting one's own house should be treated with respect. In this light, it is clear that the Russian visa officer has virtually assaulted a visitor to his country, a shameless act in every sense of the word.

That said, all embassies and high commissions must ensure that competent, well-mannered individuals are assigned to handle visa matters. It is true that theirs is arduous task, but all applicants have to be treated with respect, regardless of whether their visas are eventually granted or not.

More facilities must also be provided to visa applicants - we have seen applicants waiting in the hot sun or pouring rain with their documents outside embassies and outsourced visa processing centres.

We hope the Russian Embassy as well as the Foreign Ministry would conduct an investigation into this serious incident and take appropriate action. There should be no room for incidents of this nature at any embassy.

 

'A Golden Age' I experienced

It was many centuries ago that the Athenian leader Pericles gave the world his views on memorial lectures and orations. 'It is hard to speak properly', he said, 'upon a subject where it is even difficult to convince your hearers that you are speaking the truth'. The University of Ceylon at Peradeniya in the 1950s is one such subject.

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Vijaya: A humble humanist with broad vision

"There is a saying that 'Great men are born and they don't die'. The late Vijaya Kumaratunga was one such great man who was a time humanist. Vijaya Kumaratunga played an exceptional role in the social, economic, political and cultural mainstream of this country as an eminent film artiste and a political thinker.

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On My watch]

Pressure for talks and border realities

For most of this week the LTTE has been playing hard to get with regard to participation in the Geneva 2 round of negotiations that the Government has already given its consent to. After its savage suicide bomb attack on Navy personnel near Sigiriya earlier this week, which came quick on the heels of the limited success it had at Muhamalai, the LTTE kept the guessing game live about its presence in Geneva later this month. It added to the speculation with the attack at Galle last Thursday.

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