National Day celebrations in New York

NEW YORK: The staff of the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York celebrated the 59th National Day of Sri Lanka on February 4 with expatriate Sri Lankans and well-wishers living in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

This well-attended event consisted of religious observances guided by the clergy of the Buddhist, Hindu, Christian and Islamic faiths; reading of the Message of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and a multi-cultural performance followed by a Reception.

The text of the President’s address at the National Day ceremony held in Colombo, as well as messages from Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka and Foreign Minister Rohitha Boggollagama were made available to the guests.

Addressing the gathering, Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam, the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka, explained the work carried out by the Permanent Mission to the UN, and spoke about the achievements during the past year.

Speaking on the current challenges faced by Sri Lanka such as fighting terrorism, efforts to build consensus seeking a democratic political solution to conflict in the North and the East, achieving economic development of the country including tsunami recovery efforts, the Ambassador explained steps being taken by the Government in this regard.

Important among them, he said, is the launch of the development framework “Mahinda Chintana - the 10-year horizon” declaring the decade 2006-2016 as the decade for development, at the successfully concluded Sri Lanka Development Forum held in Galle last week.

Ambassador Kariyawasam called for the support of the Sri Lankan expatriate community and well-wishers in the development process of the country, and urged them to remain engaged in the tsunami recovery process through the coming years to complete the task.

What is most important, he said, is to focus attention on strengthening Sri Lanka’s economy, and urged that they invest in Nation Building Bonds, and take initiatives to promote Sri Lankan products and services.

Emphasising the Government’s firm resolve to defeat terrorism, Ambassador Kariyawasam quoted from the President’s address that “the most reliable weapon against terrorism is to do justice by the innocent Tamil people”.

He also urged the expatriate community to actively contribute for building Sri Lanka’s image abroad and towards a national consensus for a solution to the conflict in the North and the East of Sri Lanka.