Lanka-Croatia MoU a major achievement - PM

COLOMBO: The Sri Lanka Government is always committed to peace. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is acting in an amenable manner to resolve Sri Lanka's burning national problem.

It is the LTTE which left the negotiating table unilaterally, said Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake when he called on Croatian President Stjepan Mesic during his official visit to Croatia during an official tour of Central European countries.

Wickremanayake said President Rajapaksa was trying to find a national solution to the problem through an All Party Conference without giving a Government solution which would be one-sided.

The President had invited all political parties represented in Parliament to help find a solution through an All Party Conference. Of 17 political parties, 15 parties had accepted the President's invitation. A solution found at an All Party Conference would be accepted as a national solution.

The President was currently trying best to get the remaining two parties too to join this common effort.

Wickremanayake said Croatia which had friendly relations with Sri Lanka and the two of them had many common features.

Sri Lanka was thankful to Croatia for helping her during the tsunami disaster. Wickremanayake invited Croatia which was renowned for the ship building industry and the field of engineering to invest in Sri Lanka making use of the facilities provided by the BOI.

There were avenues in Sri Lanka for investment in tourism and hotel sector.

Wickremanayake who described the Sri Lanka-Croatia MoU signed during his visit as a major achievement for both countries, said it would promote educational, cultural and technological exchange programmes in the future.

Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said Croatia highly valued its friendship with Sri Lanka. He recalled that the friendship between the two countries reached new heights during the existence of the Yugoslavian state.