Can Asia challenge the West

Wed, 2012-08-01 00:33 — editor

• Article

By Shenali Waduge

A question never answered is why does the West dominate the world and why do the rest of the world allow the West to dominate them? Moreover, it is always inferred that the West is superior and thus what the West says, does or advises is superior – no questions asked. As we enter the 21st century we can be assured that the world is witnessing two major changes – beginning of the end of Western domination and the Asian renaissance.
When people are the same all over the world to understand how the West came to rule the world we need to go back 15,000 years. From nomadism, the world has reached universal settlement, agriculture, large populations, labor, centralized power and a phase we refer to as modern.
Those promoting the West would argue that the West are biologically superior and have better leaders while the others would argue they possess unique cultures and a rich history. Be that as it may the great civilizations evolved from Asia, Mesopotamia, Mexico and Peru. With time while some groups stuck to hunting others built empires after realizing the value of location, geography and climate. Thus it was in South West Asia around 9000 BC that farming began and spread across Europe as well as China and Mexico.
The first city emerged 6000 years ago in Iraq (Mesopotamia), out of sheer jealousy most of these monumental buildings and historic sites have all been brought to ruins by US/NATO air strikes. Soon states turned into empires created armies that moved round the seas resulting in the introduction of taxations. The world’s greatest empires spread from Rome in the West to the Han China in the East when the East became far ahead of the West in terms of innovations.
It was Western Europe inspired by the East’s ships that helped them gain geographical advantage and thus began the modern trade, slavery and the new economy. The Western Europeans discovered, plundered and colonized the Americas moving on to Asia and Africa. Western Europeans were soon involved in production and tapping into the power of fossil fuels. The first industrial revolution emerged in the UK and the British began to dominate the global economy and then came the American dominated economy until the present where the Asian tigers have once more arisen and China, India and hopefully a united Asia will regain its rightful stake.
Undoubtedly, the rise of Asia and the East has rattled the West. The importance of the rise of the East means that Asian societies are rising and Western societies are crumbling. This is not difficult to perceive. The West’s “freedom” slogan has only produced children out of wedlock, low marriages, a trend in homosexuality, complete collapse of the family, overflowing prisons, drug addicts and people addicted to prescription drugs, large numbers drawn to psychiatric therapy and the list goes on. What ails the culture of the West is that it has afforded its people multiple options which have altered the value of faithfulness in love, for children and even taking care of parents once old. These traits have been advanced through Western influenced media into Asian cultures as well.
The West is suffering a financial crisis, massive unemployment etc whilst continuing its policies of invading nations on the pretext of securing human rights, democracy and freedom for these people. This new trend is nothing to be surprised over and in fact it simply reveals that the West is now drained out and is out to secure new wealth. Thus the re-entry to the East to once again squander as they did in colonial times – this time with a touch of sophistication, using corporates to enter as investors and then to walk off with a country’s key assets.
The brutal colonization of the Third World went hand in hand with religious and economic expansion. Once “divide and rule” became the principle and slavery became the norm the rich cultures and civilizations of the East fell apart one after the other not helped in the least by the wars and conflicts that were purposely instigated in a game that the West contrived to ensure they would reign supreme by dividing and disintegrating others whilst bribing Asian leaders to function on behalf of their strategic interests denying rights to their own natives. With time the West developed a model to ensnare and enslave countries further by introducing the World Bank and IMF – always led by a person from the West. These policies were nothing but enslavement of generations of people in taxes where the West end up living off interest paid on the invisible loans given. And we have to be thankful for these loans and grateful to the local leaders for securing them!
The desire to maintain its security at the helm of world governance has prompted these Western nations to go to any lengths to ensure the empires they have built do not fall apart and so “terrorism” was created and with it a drive called “war on terror” which has now been tied to a doctrine called “responsibility to protect” enabling countries to legally enter and take over nations simply on an “assumption”. Leaders of Third World nations especially the politicians have not helped to counter these maneuvers since they have been enticed by commissions and love for money falling prey to the machinations of the Western governments leading them to betray their own nations and their own people. Such local leaders have enabled the West to walk over and completely destroy nations.
It is no secret that the West has been trespassing on other cultures. The British strategy during colonial times was to introduce alcohol to the natives on top of the overall divide and rule policy, the British created divides among castes further dividing the people! Thus the strategy to introduce a non-cultural item into another culture and show that to be far superior than the existing culture has certainly made inroads in Asian towns and cities….just count the number of Asian youth attempting to have size 0 bodies! Asians are always competing to own the latest mobile phone or possess the latest car in the market….these are all western influenced outcomes.
So while spirituality is beckoning most people of the West who are giving up their religions and turning to philosophies like Buddhism and mind calming meditation and yoga, the people of the East are in severe competition attempting to all the while live and act like the West. So we certainly see the lifestyles of the two inter-changing reiterating the need for the wise leaders ruling the East to get to grips with the present scenario and think of how to ensure East does not give up its cultural heritage.
Asians need to decolonize their minds. With Asia’s rise, Asians need to think as Asians and not follow or practice all that is West. It will only facilitate the decay of Asia despite its rise.
We are all aware that the rise of the East is headed by China which means China needs to keep the Asian nations together and to foster greater ties not in the manner that the West has been doing. Certainly China has done a great job sharing its prosperity, signing free trade agreements, using its state services to forge partnerships instead of having corporate take over nations. What China now needs to do is to encourage Asian nations to value Asian cultures because the fall of Asia will come about by following false Western cultures.
What people of the East need to realize and remember at all times is that Modernization is not Westernization.
What is keeping the West at the helm however is the United Nations with its pretext of fostering unity and protecting the world from another war whilst doing nothing to stop mini-wars and conflicts which have been covertly created by the West. The UN is carrying forth the West’s dogma – Reform. Yet does reform have to be according to the West?
It is not difficult to see that the real power of the UN is concentrated among 15 members and 5 permanent members of which China and Russia balances the scales. Yet for most part, the West has dominated every resolution passed in the UN and has managed to manipulate the secretariat to endorse its “new colonialism” strategies.
Yet, without a doubt the 21st century will be Asia’s century and before our eyes we see power shifting. Nevertheless, as of now Asia’s biggest enemy remains Asia and that will continue to be until Asia and Asians realize their own values, respect their culture and cultural heritage and not fall prey to the Western culture that is being steadily incorporated into Asian society through western media channels.
Geography, location and climate was what induced the West to take over the East and tap into its wealth – these very ingredients remains the secrets to Asia’s growth and it is for that very reason that every inch of Asia in terms of its geographical focal points, strategic locations be protected by Asia’s leaders and climate is used to advantage to foster every aspect of sustainability drives possible. With these areas strategically taken care of by Asian leaders led by China, Asia is unlikely to fall. The only challenge to this is India which has become manipulated by the West and is being used as a pimp to tap into countries of Asia in order to keep the pro-US agenda in tact and US very much part of whatever Asia decides. Whilst Indians as a whole may not be aware of this and are unlikely to agree to Western influence, the reality remains that India is controlled by a handful of aristocrat Brahmins. It is time India woke up to the realization that Asia’s fall will come because of India compromising Asia – otherwise Asia will be a force to reckon with.
- Asian Tribune -

U.S. Welcomes National Action Plan

Fri, 2012-08-03 01:01 — editor

Colombo, 03 August (Asiantribune.com):

The United States welcomes the release of the National Action Plan by the Government of Sri Lanka.

We have long encouraged the full implementation of the recommendations outlined by the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. We believe that full implementation of the National Action Plan will benefit all citizens of Sri Lanka by furthering long-term reconciliation and lasting peace.

- Asian Tribune -

Sri Lanka arrests Tamil politician over human smuggling

English.news.cn   2012-07-25 15:05:09

COLOMBO, July 25 (Xinhua) -- The police in Sri Lanka on Wednesday arrested a Tamil politician and another suspect over a human smuggling operation.
Police media spokesman Ajith Rohana told Xinhua the Tamil politician is a member of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and is a candidate for the local council elections in the east scheduled for September.
"Over the past few days there were reports of attempts by people to go overseas by boat illegally. We had reported how the Tamil diaspora may also be involved in human smuggling and that has now been confirmed with the arrest of the tow key suspects," the police spokesman said.
He said that the two suspects were believed to have been involved in attempts to send several Tamils to Australia by boat.
The two suspects were arrested from the eastern town of Trincomalee where several attempts were made in the recent days by asylum seekers to head to Australia by boat.
Rohana said that the suspects had taken money from the Tamils to send them overseas through illegal means.
He said that they are looking for more suspects who are alleged to be involved in the human smuggling racket.
Last week government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said that the government suspected the rise in human smuggling attempts were part of an organized attempt by interested groups to tarnish the country's image.
Despite the risks of being caught by Sri Lankan authorities or perishing during their journey, many continue to risk their lives in exchange to reach Australia by boat.
According to the Australian media over 1,300 Sri Lankans illegally reached Australia by boat since January 2012.
The Sri Lankan navy and the police have meanwhile arrested hundreds of others over the past several weeks as they attempted to make the treacherous journey by boat.

Power cut schedule

The 13 victims – progenitors of the 30 years conflict

Tue, 2012-07-24 04:42 — editor

By-Leel Pathirana

July 23rd of 1983 narrate us the turning point of the 30 years ended war in Sri Lanka with the LTTE terrorist. Much talk about the subsequent incident happened in July 25th (Black July) and less talk about what happened on two nights back on July 23rd. Number 13 is considered a bad number or inauspicious mostly among Europe and America. There’s no thirteenth floor neither in the high storied buildings there and nor in hotels can be found room number thirteen.
Outbreak of the Sri Lankan thirty years separatist war was also begun from the 13, when the LTTE detonated a landmine on 23rd of July 1983 at Thrunelveli, Palai road in the Jaffna Peninsula. The victims were thirteen soldiers of the Sri Lankan Army, when they were moving in the night, at 23:45 hrs. However, killing of the thirteen soldiers SLA (Sri Lankan Army) became a turning-point and led to a three decade long separatist terrorist war. The conflict ended after losing more than one hundred thousand lives.
Under the post war Sri Lanka, we have achieved a military victory and the peace can be built among the hearts of both Sinhalese and Tamil through a genuine reconciliation mechanism plus a political solution for the minority Tamils. But the solution should be a Sri Lankan Model and not an alien or so-called solution proposed by the Westerners.
The aim of this article is to take a look back about the beginning of the conflict, particularly for the young generation of Sri Lanka who has born after 1983. But the reader should not be confused over this article with the North-East crisis of Sri Lanka and it’s root causes.
Velupillai Prabhakaran comes from Valvetiturai, (a place said to be a smugglers’ paradise) a small port town situated in Jaffna Peninsula and all illegal goods were brought by boats from South India and unloaded there. Having born there, he was engaged in smuggling business in the mid seventies. However there are no details available about his school life or education.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was founded on the 05th March 1976 by Velupillai Prabhakaran and the other founder members were Charles Lucas Anthony alias Colonel Seelan, Sathasivam Krishnakumar alias colonel Kittu and Aruna. After couple of years by 1978, Gopalaswami Mahendrarajah alias Mahattaya together with Ragavan and Anand too joined the Tamil separatists outfit.
In the beginning, armed with primary fire arms started to rob banks in order to find the funds for their organization. Subsequently, they started to assassinate what they called their opponents and the first victim was a distinguished political personality from their own minority Tamil, a former Member of Parliament and the Mayor of Jaffna, Mr. Alfred Duraiappa. He was gunned down by Prabakaran himself (?) on the 27th July 1976, in a Hindu temple though he was a catholic.
By the beginning of the eighties, they were well organized and began to launch guerilla attacks against the Sri Lankan Army. In their initial hostility campaign of Sri Lankan artillery Corporal, H.G.W.Hewawasam from Kuruvita and Corporal H.M.P.Thisera of Mathugama were killed on October 1981 on the KKS road in Jaffna. The attack was carried out by Charles Antony alias Seelan and some sources say he spat on the slain soldier’s face. In a separate incident, Sergeant Nihal Jayaweera also killed in Killinochchi same month on 23rd October 981.
However, Sri Lankan Army intelligence unit started monitoring the activities of Charles Anthony alias Seelan. Finally, on the 15th July 1983, Charles Lucas Anthony alias colonel Seelan was killed in a close encounter with the Sri Lankan Army at Meesalai, Thennamarachchi area located in the Jaffna Peninsula. The man who hailed from Trincomalee and being a catholic was a member of the original group that founded the LTTE and regarded as the confidante of the leadership and was part of a triumvirate that ran the LTTE in the north when the Tiger Leader was away in India. The other two were Mahattaya and Kittu.
There was a controversy over the death of Col. Seelan. While in a hideout at a coconut grove at Meesalai, Army ambushed the place where Seelan (Charles Anthony) Aruna and Anand were hiding. During the shoot out in which Aanand was killed on the spot, though Seelan and Aruna fought their way through but Seelan was critically injured. As the soldiers continued their chase, the wounded Seelan ordered Aruna to shoot him dead and get away with the weapons. But Aruna was reluctant and did not agree. After some heated argument he had no choice left, but to obey Seelan and shot him dead and escaped.
Praba, after being wedded to Mathivathany Erambu on 1984, both are Hindus, his first son was born in 1985, the tiger leader named his son Charles Antony in the fond memory of his confidante and the deputy.
After learning the fate of Seelan, Prabha was furious and mad. He wanted to take revenge on the Sri Lankan Army. Exactly after eighth day of the death of Seelan, Chellakili and Kittu planned an attack. They ambushed an army patrol “ Four Four Bravo” and detonated Army vehicle in the night at 23:45 hrs on 23rd July 1983 at Thirunelveli post office junction at Palali Road, Jaffna.
In the ambush, thirteen soldiers were killed, including an officer. It is said that even after the blast, some soldiers were alive, being critically injured. Both Prabha and Kittu approached the scene and shot the wounded soldiers in point blank range to make clear that all were dead.
The death of the thirteen soldiers triggered off anti-Tamil violence on 25th July 1983 (Black July 83) and led directly to an outbreak of the separatist war in Sri Lanka.
The 13 soldiers who sacrifice their lives were:
1. Lieutenant- A.P.N.E. Vaas Gunawardene
2. Staff Sergeant- S.A. Thilakarathne of Bandaragama
3. Sergeant- Guruge Premasiri Preyra of Homagama
4. Corporal-G.P. Perera of Battaramulla
5. Lance Corporal- S.S.Amarasinghe of Ganemulla
6. Lance Corporal- K.D.Karunarathne of Kaduwela
7. Lance Corporal-A.T.Wijesiri of Kegalla
8. Lance Corporal- S. Gamini Rajathilaka of Kegalla
9. Lance Corporal- M.B.D. Sunil of Nawalapitiya
10. Lance Corporal- A. Joseph Remijayas Fernado of Puttalam
11. Lance Corporal-D.M. Athula Dissanayake of Kandy
12. Lance Corporal-B.D. Robert of Kalutara
13. Lance Corporal-M.A. Sarath Chandralal Manatunge of Polgahawela
This incident spread every nook and corner of the island like a wildfire and the people of the south were furious. The bodies of the thirteen soldiers were air ferried from Jaffna to Colombo on the day after (24th) and the arrangements were made by then the Government to hand over the bodies of the soldiers to their respective families. But having done that, the Government was under impression once those bodies being taken to their villages, the situation may go worse since the people were about to react.
Finally, the government changed the arrangements and decided to give a State Funeral on 25th for all the soldiers at Colombo cemetery. At the time the bodies of the thirteen soldiers being buried, the impatience angry crowds started to react. As reprisal, properties of the Tamils in Colombo and suburb were set ablaze and some Tamils were killed by the violent crowds.
The anti Tamil violence spread to the other part of the island, where Tamils lived. Though the curfew was imposed, mobs showed scant respect and boldly carried out attacks on the Tamils and their properties. Thirty five Tamil prisoners were killed inside Colombo’s Welikada prison on 25th and on the 27th claiming further eighteen prisoners.
Most of the damages were done by the state sponsored mob who acted under the direction of some ministers of the then United National Party government.
On the 30th July 1983, by a special Gazette notification, the Government banned unlawfully and undemocratically, three leftwing political parties of Sri Lanka and alleged that they had been involved anti Tamil violence. They were JVP (Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna-Marxist-Leninist), Communist Party of Sri Lanka and the Samasamaja Party (Troskyist). Orders went to all the police stations throughout the island to arrest the leader of the JVP, Rohana Wijeweera (Who was later killed after seven years on 13th November 1989 when he was arrested) and the other two leaders of the communist party and Samasamaja Party. But the government’s top priority was to arrest the leader of the JVP and less attention was paid to other two leaders. The ban on the Communist party and the Samasamaja party were lifted after few months, but the ban on JVP continued up to eleven years till 1994.
Finally, the killing of thirteen soldiers and the subsequent anti Tamil violence on 25th July led to the creation of two insurgencies in Sri Lanka. Number one was, forming a Terrorist group, the LTTE which became world’s ruthless terrorist group fighting for separate home land in northern Sri Lanka, and ended after almost thirty years loosing uncountable number of lives.
The other was, launching the second JVP insurgency 1988/89 fighting against social injustice, Indian intervention and restore democracy for a united Sri Lanka for both Sinhalese majority and Tamil minority, was also ended up in a fiasco losing more than sixty thousand lives. Both were the consequences of the legacy, left by the European Colonialism in post-independent Ceylon.
- Asian Tribune -

Lanka’s HR report to UNHRC

Posted by admin on July 22, 2012

Sri Lanka’s report for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva will be sent to the Council tomorrow to be studied by some member states.
Government Minister and special envoy on human rights Mahinda Samarasinghe said that the report was earlier given to President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his approval and it will be sent to Geneva tomorrow.
He said that three countries including India are expected to study the document and make recommendations before it is placed before the council during the UPR session in November.
The efforts taken by the government to address human rights related issues will be the focus of the UPR session in November.
Samarasinghe says Sri Lanka has addressed most of the outstanding issues and is confident of receiving the backing of most member states during the UPR session.

http://colombogazette.com/lankas-hr-report-to-unhrc/

To compliment Sri Lanka’s Military achievements Tamils must live without Caste and Class say Mullaitivu Tamils

By Shenali Waduge

Anyone keen to know and understand the dynamics of Sri Lanka’s conflict will need to also realize that the cries of discrimination by the Sinhalese was an orchestrated plan to keep hidden from the world the fact that Tamils were and wanted to continue to remain divided by caste and class so that only a handful of Tamils would between themselves enjoy education, social and political development.
Now that Sri Lanka’s military has eliminated the terrorist factor, what remains is the need to vanquish the caste and class divisions that continues to remain unabated. While the military continues to do a remarkable service it is now left to the civilians to abandon centuries of discrimination and to allow these marginalized Tamils their right to live just like the high caste/class Tamils.
The rights of Tamil children taken and made into child combatants, the rights of women often raped, drugged or brainwashed leaving them no choice but to become suicide cadres were all silently acknowledged by Colombo-based Tamil political parties. Over the years LTTE took one after another to make them part of their terror outfit. That silence was because these Tamil children, women and men were not high caste or high class Tamils – they were all low caste Tamils that were shown no empathy or sympathy from other Tamils but became tools to showcase a different story, a story of Sinhala oppression that would enable high caste/class Tamils to reap the benefits.
However much Tamils may try they cannot deny or excuse the many riots that have taken place over decades because Tamil low castes could not bear the unfair and unjust treatment of their own people.
Mullaitivu is just one of the districts that formed a nexus of these low caste non-Vellala Tamils to be recruited to the LTTE. Today, the entire district comprising 6 AGA divisions (Maritimepattu, Oddusuddan, Puthukudiyirippu, Thunukkai, Manthai and Weli Oya) is a home to a little over 90,000 Tamil civilians, 34,000 of whom are located in Maritimepattu.
Little does any observer need to be told how appreciative these ordinary men and women are for the manner Sri Lanka’s armed forces continue to assist them. Contrary to what Colombo-based Tamil politicians taking orders from neighboring India will declare, the people of Mullaitivu have struck a close bond with the military having realized that they are not the enemy afterall. It is natural for the military to be regarded as they have been when these people have been told day in and day out nothing other than the cruelties inflicted by the Army and the Sinhalese people. To change that attitude and fear it not only takes time, it needs the patience of the military and the understanding of the ground realities that prevailed for these people to think so.
Nevertheless, the army has certainly won the people over and it is this victory that has Colombo-based Tamil politicians desiring to continue the caste/class divide using the Sinhalese once again that is attempting to try all sorts of googly’s.
There is much that the people of Mullaitivu are thankful for. Other than being a contributing factor to the LTTE in terms of men and women, these people have had no other life to enjoy. Today, the roads that were once used to carry out terrorist attacks, narcotics and other illicit practices has been carpeted and people have benefited by the infrastructural developments taking place spearheaded by the military. The road from Mankulam to Mullaitivu, Paranthan to Mullaitivu, Pulliyankulam to Mullaitivu, Weli Oya to Mullaitivu are being carpeted.
The men are today not holding arms and ammunition but able to engage freely in some form of livelihood with many taking up to fishing, agricultivation and other small businesses. Even the women have begun to start small enterprises of their own. There are already over 75 government schools in operation and children have no fear of being kidnapped and turned into killers by Tamil tigers. To understand exactly how these civilians feel happy in a habitat without guns and killing, people need to do more than just give out statements from Colombo ridiculing the armed forces.
The military has successfully completed over 250 houses and gifted them to families strengthening further the ties that are building between the Tamil civilians that have suffered through decades of LTTE/Tamil politician hostility. It is this bond that has helped to make them feel that their safety is being looked after and protected by Sri Lanka’s military which has suddenly got the Colombo-based Tamil politicians to panic in view of the possible collapse of their power over their own people if this bond stretches to other districts of the North.
While the military has built 250 houses the Indian Government has succeeded to build 50 only of the 50,000 promised in Maritimepattu using Indian materials brought in from India. This certainly showcases the effectiveness and efficiency of Sri Lanka’s military.
Nevertheless, while acknowledging attempts to continue subversive activities and to once more instill a divide amongst the Tamil people against the armed forces what is also true is that there is a limit to what the armed forces can do. The fact that the uniform is in itself an automatic divider is something we need to admit. Therefore what is now needed is for the Government to use its line ministries to passionately take on the task of administering the peoples needs that is part and parcel of what they are paid to do.
What needs to be mentioned highlighting the limitations to some of the civilian efforts is that the caste/class barriers existing amongst the Tamils is manifesting itself in the public sector service mechanism too. A good example is when Government appointed officials in key areas like education turn out to function with a lackluster attitude because they belong to the high caste and do not wish to uplift the status of their own people. The people of Mullaitivu are disgusted with the situation wherein most feel that they were ruled by Jaffna Tamils and the Jaffna Tamils want to continue to ruin them even now.
The Government cannot recruit looking at people’s caste or class neither can a Government look at the caste/class in determining which Tamil public servant should serve. Naturally as a Tamil, we would expect all Tamils to be keen to undo 3 decades wherein children of the areas like Mullaitivu have been neglected educationally and socially. Nevertheless the truth of the matter is far different and is posing a greater tragedy to the reconciliation.
Foreign governments seem to have neglected to place the significance of the caste/class factors that divide Tamils which is far more detrimental than the bogus propaganda promoted about Sinhala oppression. The Colomb-based Tamil politicians themselves part of the higher class/caste are all the while attempting to hide this truth.
What needs to essentially be done is to create more communication channels – open forums that villagers can come face to face with public officials and put across their issues. This is what leads to severe criticisms about Sri Lanka’s public service something shared by all the citizens throughout the entire country. Once again what the Government needs to realize and what the President needs to wake up to is that his entire legislative bodies from Ministers, to the line Ministries, their officials, advisors, consultants and trickling down to the public sector need to realize they are supposed to be working for the people and that service now needs to rejuvenate itself from the pace it is currently functioning in.
There is a limit to what the military can do to make up for the shortcomings of the public sector apparatus and this calls for the President to intervene to wake up the entire public sector of Sri Lanka.
- Asian Tribune -

Vietnamese, Sri Lankan foreign ministers meet on bilateral ties

HANOI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh met with his Sri Lankan counterpart G.L. Peiris for talks over bilateral relations in capital Hanoi on Tuesday during his four-day visit to Vietnam.

During the meeting, Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh spoke highly of Peiris's visit to Vietnam, adding that his visit plays an important role in further expanding the Vietnam-Sri Lanka multifaceted traditional friendship relations.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris, for his part, expressed his impression on achievements Vietnam has gained during the innovation and economic development process.

The two ministers expressed delight at the positive development of the bilateral relations during the past years and agreed to further cooperation in fields of politic, defense and security, economic, trade and investment, oil, gas, and education.

The two sides also agreed to study on signing the Vietnam-Sri Lanka Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) in the future.

In 2011, the Vietnam-Sri Lanka bilateral trade turnover reached 100 million U.S. dollars and is expected to hit one billion U.S. dollars by 2015.