Friends

I welcome and felicitate all of you this morning when we have assembled to celebrate the 63rd Republic Day of India.

It is my privilege to read out to you extracts from the address to the nation delivered by the President of India, Her Excellency Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil last evening.

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Dear Friends,

The President has given us a clear message on our vision and goals as a nation seeking its destiny in a complex and challenging global environment. She has outlined how we must proceed to build the nation, seeking directions from our age-old values, ideals of our freedom movement, and the principles of our Constitution, while emphasizing our unity, a positive attitude and our aspiration to grow. She has warned against getting distracted by discordant pulls and pressures.

I will request all of you to go through the full text of the important speech given by the President.

Friends, let me add a few words about India-Sri Lanka relations.

I am happy to report to you that the year 2011 witnessed impressive progress in virtually all aspects of our relations with Sri Lanka, whether it be political and security, trade, investment and tourism, education and culture, or development partnership. Indeed, we in the High Commission were at times a little overwhelmed by the pace of events and activities. With your full support, we have sought to utilize the unprecedented opportunities created following the end of the armed conflict in this country.

Over the last 10 days alone, we had a very successful visit by our Minister of External Affairs Hon. S.M. Krishna to Sri Lanka. We were also fortunate to receive former President of India Hon. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam who visited at the invitation of HE the President of Sri Lanka and left behind a deep imprint. These visits amply illustrated the range and intensity of our exchanges with Sri Lanka.

The year 2011 also witnessed rapid strides in our bilateral economic engagement. India reinforced its position as Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner, a leading investor in this country and the source of the largest number of tourist arrivals here.

Our bilateral trade surged by over 70% and is estimated to have touched 5 billion US Dollars. Investments from India crossed 100 million US Dollars last year and we expect a quantum jump this year as several projects are in the pipeline. We greatly appreciate the active role played by Indian companies many of whose representatives are present this morning.

Indian tourists accounted for over 1/5th of all tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka. Likewise, a quarter million Sri Lankans travelled to India.

As you are aware, we have substantially stepped up our developmental cooperation with Sri Lanka.

During the recent visit of our External Affairs Minister, we signed an MoU for construction and repair of 49,000 houses under grant assistance of 260 million US Dollars provided by the Government of India. This is going to be the largest project of its kind undertaken by India in a foreign country.

I am happy to tell you that there is a growing recognition in Sri Lanka that our projects are being implemented in a smooth and timely manner. The railway project in the South will be completed on schedule by April this year, while the railway project in the North is also on track and will be completed by December 2013. We have just completed the complex task of removal of 10 ship wrecks at Kankesanthurai harbor, once again in a timely and efficient manner.

We have also attached particular importance to cultural and people-to-people links with Sri Lanka. I will give you two recent examples.

Last week, our Minister of External Affairs announced a three-fold increase in our scholarship schemes for Sri Lanka, involving a grant of 2.5 billion Rupees.

Next month, Indian Railways are launching a special train called ‘Damba Diwa Vandana’, which will take Sri Lankan Buddhist pilgrims from Chennai to all major Buddhist sites in India.

As you are aware, the Indian Cultural Centre has moved into larger premises and expanded its activities. We are presently revamping the facilities at the Centre and this work will be completed in about two months’ time. We seek your full participation to make it a vibrant and dynamic hub for cultural activities.

I am happy to mention that we are launching a facebook page for our High Commission which will be online from today. It is available at www.facebook.com/hcicolombo. We look forward to getting your suggestions and also lots of ‘likes’ from you. This face book page will enable you to get updates on various activities of the High Commission and have an interactive relationship with us. Both bouquets and brickbats are welcome, though naturally we will prefer the former!

We greatly appreciate the initiatives and effort of the Indian community. You have given us immense encouragement and support in all our activities. You have been for us very valuable partners. Thank you very much.

Before I conclude, let me thank the ladies of the High Commission for their beautiful rendition of the National Anthem. Shortly, we will witness some dance and song items presented by the Indian Cultural Centre. I would like to convey my thanks to Manjula Seneviratne and Moksha Samarasooriya for putting together these items.

I am also delighted to welcome Aditi Mangaldas and her troupe who are visiting Sri Lanka to give performances at Colombo, Galle, Kandy and Jaffna to coincide with our Republic Day. They put up an absolutely brilliant show in Colombo last evening.

I would also like to thank the Sri Lankan Navy band for their lovely tunes.

Thank you all for joining us this morning. I felicitate you once again on the happy occasion of the 63rd Republic Day of India.

JAI HIND!