Hon'ble Prof. G.L. Peiris, Minister of External Affairs,

Hon'ble Douglas Devananda, Minister of Traditional Industries and Small Enterprise Development,

Hon'ble Governor of Northern Province Maj.Gen Chandrasiri,

High Commissioner of India Mr. Ashok Kantha,

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka Mr. Prasad Kariyawasam,

Consul General of India Mr. Mahalingam,

Distinguished Guests and Ladies and Gentlemen

I am extremely pleased to return to Jaffna. It also gives me immense pleasure to be part of this ceremony to mark the distribution of cycles to Internally Displaced Persons from all the five districts of the Northern Province. 

I have just come from Ariyalai where I handed over the first lot of houses to beneficiaries under the Indian Housing project. This is truly the flagship project of India's development assistance to Sri Lanka and, one of the largest grant assistance project undertaken by the Government of India in any part of the world. Prime Minister of India, His Excellency Dr. Manmohan Singh made the offer to construct 50,000 houses in Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka during the visit of His Excellency President Mahinda Rajapaksa to India in June 2010. 

Yesterday, Minister Peiris and I signed an MOU to construct the remaining 49,000 houses under this Project involving a grant assistance of 260 million US Dollars from India. Both sides will follow the best practices in implementation of this Project, particularly in beneficiary selection and grievance handling.

We thank the Government of Sri Lanka, particularly the Government Agents of the five districts of Northern Province and their team for assistance with critical project requirements in the pilot phase of the Project. We look forward to more such support in the coming months.

The project to distribute 10,000 bicycles to the returning idPs in the five districts of the Northern Province will enhance and anchor their return. I extend appreciation to Sri Lankan Government for its support as also to UNHCR, which has been associated by us as an implementation partner. 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

There exists a special relationship between the people of the Northern Province in general and Jaffna Peninsula in particular and those of southern India. 

Today, I am happy to announce the completion of wreck removal work at the KKS Harbour at a cost of 19 million US Dollars. This is expected to facilitate marine trade in Jaffna peninsula and revive economic activity in Northern Province. We stand ready to provide further grant assistance for the next phase of the project. We are undertaking rehabilitation of Achuvely Industrial Zone to create employment opportunities in Northern Province and to provide a platform for industrial development of Jaffna.

We hope the Government of Sri Lanka will develop Palaly as a civilian airport and restore its connectivity with India and within Sri Lanka. This will give tremendous fillip to the local economies in our two countries.

The work on the Northern Railway Construction Project is progressing smoothly and is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

We intend to build the Jaffna Cultural Centre next to the Public Library. Last evening, I was shown the design of the proposed Centre. I am confident that this Centre will emerge as a cultural icon and help rejuvenate such activities.

Friends,

Sri Lanka has emerged from three decades of armed conflict. Now peace has dawned. It is our sincere hope that the vision and leadership that resulted in an end to the armed conflict will now be employed in the quest for a genuine political settlement based on devolution of power resulting in national reconciliation among all the communities of Sri Lanka.

We have noted the constructive recommendations contained in the report of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) and look forward to their implementation. It is also our hope that the process of dialogue presently underway will lead to a meaningful devolution package, building upon the 13th Amendment, which would create the necessary conditions for a lasting political settlement. India will do everything possible to assist in this process.

I would like to reiterate that the Government and people of India will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Government of Sri Lanka and the people of the Northern Province all possible assistance in their reconstruction efforts.

Thank you.