Govt’s direct participation has boosted development – Minister
Basil
Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa has attributed Sri
Lanka’s rapid development to direct government participation in
expediting public welfare measures.
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Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa posing for a
photo with a UN team and a group of intellectuals from New
York City who called on the Minister at the Parliamentary
Complex recently. Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to
the UN Palitha Kohona also participated at the meeting. |
The Minister was addressing a visiting UN team and a group of
intellectuals from New York City when he met them at the Parliamentary
Complex recently.
Minister Basil Rajapaksa explained to them the steps the government
has taken to create a suitable environment for resettling people in the
North-East after de-mining the former terrorist-infested areas.
“Around 300,000 displaced persons were resettled in their villages
and towns in accordance with international standards within a short
period of two years,” he further said.
The Minister appreciated the assistance provided by India, Australia,
China and Japan to Sri Lanka in the resettlement work. “Assistance was
also given by international NGOs and other organizations,” the Minister
said. It had helped the government in developing the infrastructure of
these areas to provide the resettled people with education, drinking
water, electrical power, agricultural needs, health facilities and
livelihood.
He added the building of an efficient road network, including
expressways helped to provide such facilities island-wide by raising
production levels and creating new economic opportunities for the
people.
“With international assistance, the government has been able to build
the railway line linking the North and South and the construction of
expressways. Aid in this connection has been given by India, China and
Japan. The restoration of reservoirs, tanks and bunds has boosted
agricultural development,” Minister Rajapaksa said.
“All this has also helped the rapid expansion of the tourism industry
which has attracted an increasing number of foreign tourists to the
country, especially the North and East.
“The government is also in the process of rebuilding areas of the
North and East destroyed by the terrorism,” he emphasized.
Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the UN Palitha Kohona,
Bangladesh Government’s Permanent Representative Abdul Momen, Nigeria’s
Permanent Representative Usman Sarki, Rumania’s Permanent Representative
Srivotha Mirela, Japanese Ambassador in Sri Lanka Nobuhito Hobo,
Brazil’s Ambassador Juha Marsalo and South Africa’s High Commissioner
Geoffrey Doidge were among those who participated in the meeting. |
