My dear friends,

1. On the occasion of the 63rd Republic Day of India, I extend my greetings and best wishes to my fellow citizens of India and to the people and the Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

2. Year 2011 has been an eventful one for a world beset by economic crises and political upheaval. Amidst a new wave of democracy sweeping the world, India stands tall as a functioning democracy that has withstood the test of time, despite challenges. Over the years, our political and economic processes have also become increasingly inclusive in their orientation and in their outcome.

3. Likewise, the Indian economy displayed inherent resilience in a difficult environment to grow by an expected 7% this financial year. Our economic fundamentals remain robust, indicating that India will continue to be one of the key engines of regional and global growth.

4. Year 2011 was also a time of significant progress in all facets of the multidimensional India-Sri Lanka friendship, political, economic, cultural, educational, developmental, and defence.

5. Our relations have been propelled forward with several high level visits in both directions. Our Minister of External Affairs Hon’ble S.M. Krishna has just concluded a very successful visit to Sri Lanka. We were also fortunate to receive former President of India Hon’ble Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam to participate in the launch of the national trilingual action plan of His Excellency the President of Sri Lanka last week. We hope the coming months will witness more such visits.

6. Underlining our special economic relationship, India again emerged as Sri Lanka’s largest trading partner, a leading investor and source of the largest number of tourist arrivals in 2011. Bilateral trade surged by over 70% and is estimated to have touched 5 billion US Dollars. Investments from both sides too are reaching new highs. Investments from India crossed 100 million Dollars last year and many new projects are underway, demonstrating the confidence of Indian business in a growing Sri Lankan economy.

7. People-to-people friendship remains the strongest emblem of bilateral bonds. Indian tourists accounted for over one fifth of all tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka. Likewise, nearly a quarter million Sri Lankans traveled to India for tourism, pilgrimage or business.

8. The shared heritage of Buddhism has nurtured our relations for over two and a half millennia. Through numerous events, we jointly commemorated the 2600th year of Enlightenment of Lord Buddha last year. I am happy to announce the launch of a special train by Indian Railways from Chennai to all major Buddhist sites catering to Sri Lankan Buddhist pilgrims called ‘Damba Diwa Vandana’ from next month onwards.

9. Let me touch upon a few other important developments.

10. During the recent visit of our External Affairs Minister, we signed an MoU with the Government of Sri Lanka for the implementation of the next phase of the Housing Project for 49,000 houses under grant assistance of about 260 million US Dollars. The pilot phase of the Project for construction of 1000 houses is in advanced stages of completion and houses are being handed over to beneficiaries. Given its scale, the Housing Project is truly the flagship project of India’s developmental partnership with Sri Lanka.

11. The railway reconstruction projects in South and North under the Indian lines of credit are progressing on schedule and will be ready by April this year and December 2013 respectively. The Joint Venture Agreement for the 500 MW Sampur coal power plant, the largest such initiative between the two countries so far, was signed recently and the plant is expected to come on-stream by mid-2016.

9. Our External Affairs Minister announced in Galle a nearly three-fold increase in scholarship support to Sri Lankan students, with a grant assistance of 2.5 billion Rupees. This important initiative will further strengthen the bilateral knowledge partnership.

10. India believes that the end of the armed conflict presents an unparalleled opportunity to build a better future for all the people of Sri Lanka by channelizing their creative energies. We have noted that the constructive recommendations contained in the report of the Government-appointed Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, when implemented, would mark a major step forward in this direction. India will continue to support moves towards an early political settlement of the ethnic issue and other initiatives to nurture a caring society which ensures a life of equality and dignity to all its citizens.

11. To conclude, I would like to reiterate that India-Sri Lanka relations are growing rapidly in a comprehensive manner. The achievements of the past year have further cemented our strong friendship. Indeed, we are well-placed today to take our bilateral relations to a new level, taking advantage of new opportunities created by positive developments in our two countries.

Thank you.