Sri Lanka’s strategic focus is on expanding economic cooperation with key international partners, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Friday.
He was delivering the keynote address at the Annual Graduation ceremony of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS) at the BMICH in Colombo. President Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka was keen to foster economic collaboration with India and Member Nations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Cooperation (RCEP), along with efforts to enhance ties with the European Union (EU).
He said Sri Lanka’s foreign policy was historically significant, citing the era from the late Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake to Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike as a golden period.
The President addressed the challenges posed by the post-Covid-19 era, including the debt crisis, delays in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Climate change. He acknowledged the complexities arising from the US-China rivalry and its impact on global geopolitics, characterising the current situation as a “geopolitics of the global poly-crisis”.
President Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lanka is in the same line along with the ASEAN outlook for Indo-Pacific region vis-à-vis the unique identities of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. He said the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has established a connection between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean.
President Wickremesinghe said it was crucial to preserve the Indian Ocean as a region free from great power rivalry. “This reflects Sri Lanka’s commitment to maintaining the Indian Ocean as a zone of cooperation and stability, irrespective of broader geopolitical dynamics.”
The President said Sri Lanka supported debt relief for low-income countries in Africa and proposed a focus on the tropical belt for Climate Change mitigation. He called for global cooperation on these matters, stressing the significance of maintaining the global trade system.
Expressing concern over the conflict in the Gaza Strip, the President said that resolving the situation cannot be achieved by targeting the leadership of the Hamas organisation alone. He called for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further escalation, emphasizing the urgency of diplomatic efforts to address the complex issues surrounding the conflict. The President said he was optimistic about a positive outcome to resolve the current global situation and could be forthcoming during the upcoming meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the APEC Summit in San Francisco. The expectation is that this high-level diplomatic engagement will contribute to address key international concerns and fostering constructive dialogue between the United States and China. The President said there is an acute need for collective efforts to overcome global complexities.
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya, Members of Parliament Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Dr. Harsha de Silva, and Eran Wickramaratne were also present.
