Fri, 2012-09-21 00:58 — editor
Colombo, 21 September, (Asiantribune.com):
At the invitation of the Speaker of Sri Lanka Parliament Chamal
Rajapaksa, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s
Congress (NPC), Wu Bangguo representing the higher echelons of the leadership
of the People’s Republic of China made a first ever historic visit to Sri Lanka
from 15 – 18 September 2012.
This visit marked an important milestone in Sri Lanka-China relations
particularly in consolidating friendly ties and setting the tone for future
cooperation between the two countries.
During his discussion with President Mahinda Rajapaksa on 17th morning,
both sides acknowledged that bilateral relations based on historic and cultural
affinities have further been reinforced building upon mutual trust and
confidence. At the conclusion of this meeting 16 Agreements were signed ranging
from visa exemption and marine development to economic and technical
co-operation.
Chairman Wu noted that the All-round Cooperative Partnership initiated
in 2005, should be the guiding light in evolving a new stage of cooperation in
the bilateral relations. In this respect the parties identified the importance
of frequent exchanges of high level visits to inject new vitality to the
existing relations.
China was pleased with the tremendous achievements made by Sri Lanka
particularly after a near three decade terrorist conflict. Chairman Wu
commended the impressive 8% economic growth recorded by Sri Lanka consecutively
and post war reconstruction efforts that are underway. He was confident of the
visionary leadership of President Rajapaksa in steering the country forward.
President Rajapaksa thanked China for the assistance extended for
safeguarding Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity during the fight
against terrorism and for the support extended to Sri Lanka particularly in the
regional and multilateral fora and to forge ahead with post conflict reconciliation
and rehabilitation programmes involving all communities in the country. Sri
Lanka also pledged unstinted support to “One China Policy” and agreed to work
together with China in regional and international fora on issues of mutual
interest. On forging mutual cooperation both parties agreed to give a new hype
to economic relations between the two countries. In this respect China agreed
to provide further support to Sri Lanka for reducing the trade imbalance. The
NPC Chairman encouraged Sri Lanka to promote the country more vigorously in the
Chinese market which would benefit Sri Lanka in enhancing exports and attract
more Chinese tourists to visit the country.
Reduction of import duties on Sri Lanka’s exports were also discussed
within agreed framework arrangements and it was promised to facilitate more
market penetration opportunities to Sri Lankan export products to China.
The opportunities available in Sri Lanka to attract Chinese investments
were also discussed. Chairman Wu noted that China so far made outward
investments to the tune of over 74.6 billion USD. He also explained that Sri
Lanka should be in a position to attract a sizeable portion of these
investments due to the durable peace and political stability in the country at
present.
Tourism resource development was another area for co-operation agreed by
both parties.
Chairman Wu elaborated on the advancements made by his country on
infrastructure development and pledged further support to Sri Lanka in this
area and also in sharing Chinese expertise. Collaboration on oceanic and
agricultural cooperation were also proposed with a focus on marine and
scientific research, preventing climate change and natural disasters. China
also pledged support to Sri Lanka in capacity building in these areas.
On agriculture cooperation, China spoke of the advancements that have
been made in their country and offered assistance to Sri Lanka on animal
husbandry, biomass & energy production and agriculture product processing
in Sri Lanka.
Both sides also supported each other’s candidacies in the multilateral
fora. China offered to work with the Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO)
member countries in consensus building on elevating Sri Lanka’s participation
as an observer and expressed interest to cooperate closely with South Asia
through SAARC.
On 17th afternoon, Chairman Wu visited the Parliament of Sri Lanka,
where he was welcomed by Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa and other important
dignitaries. At a large gathering of the Sri Lanka’s legislative body Chairman
Wu spoke of the future progression of bilateral relations attaching greater
importance to strengthening contacts between the parliamentary friendship
groups, young parliamentarians and also the provincial authorities to further
consolidate State to State relations. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa referred to his
recent successful visit to China in facilitating a deeper understanding of each
other’s social systems for relations to grow.
Chairman Wu during his stay also visited the Independence Square, the
Colombo South Container Terminal Development Project which is a joint venture
of US $ 500 mn, and the BMICH which stands as an edifice of the monumental
friendship between the two countries.
The Official Visit by the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the
National People’s Congress of China to Sri Lanka heralded a new chapter in
Sino-Sri Lanka relations in pursuit of common endeavors towards strengthening
closer friendship and co-operation between the two countries.
- Asian Tribune -
