Lankan Govt strong, will resolve ethnic issue - Japanese MPs delegation

Colombo: The Japanese Government believes that the Sri Lankan Government is strong and capable of resolving the ethnic problem, a Japanese Parliamentary delegation has told President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday.

Hosei Norota, Member of the House of Representatives and Chairman of the Japan-Sri Lanka Parliamentarians’’ Friendship Association and former Minister of Defence, has told President Rajapaksa that Sri Lanka was progressing rapidly with a strong economic framework. The delegation said they toured the East and saw the smiles of Easterners.

The Government would be able to solve the ethnic issue under the President’s strong leadership, they said, commending the Government for restoring normality to the area and expediting development.

They pledged Japan’s fullest cooperation for rural development as envisaged by the President. Japan is fully committed to the restoration of peace in Sri Lanka, they added.

President Rajapaksa pointed out that Sri Lanka and Japan were enjoying excellent diplomatic and people-to-people ties. He recalled that the present Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda had also toured Sri Lanka as the Chairman of the Japan-Sri Lanka Parliamentarians’ Friendship Association. This visit too will bolster the ties between the two countries.

He thanked the delegation for visiting the East and assured that the Government would restore democracy to the North as well.