Sri Lanka - Myanmar bilateral co-operation

Opening Remarks by Rohitha Bogollagama, MP, Minister Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka at the Second Meeting of the Sri Lanka - Myanmar Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation.

By Rohitha Bogollagama

(August 05, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian)Your Excellency U Nyan Win, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Union of Myanmar,Members of the Myanmar and Sri Lanka Delegations to the Second Meeting of the Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation,

It is my pleasure to extend friendly greetings and a very warm welcome to the delegation from Myanmar led by H.E. Nyan Win Minister of Foreign Affairs. I wish you a pleasant and fruitful stay in Sri Lanka. I also welcome the Secretaries of line Ministries and representatives of Agencies who are participating on the Sri Lanka side.

This Joint Commission Meeting is convened soon after the visit to Myanmar by His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka. The successfully concluded State Visit of His Excellency President Rajapaksa to Myanmar in June 2009 was to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between our two countries. However, the bonds between Sri Lanka and Myanmar go back many centuries. We are two Asian countries who have inherited the fruits of ancient civilizations. The bedrock of our bilateral relations lies in the historical, religious and cultural ties between our two countries which have existed from about the third century.

Sri Lanka and Myanmar are pillars of the Buddhist world. We have preserved the purity of Buddhism and the practice of the Dhamma. Sri Lanka had the profound privilege of extending the greatest gift of Buddhism to Myanmar. Myanmar in turn has played a significant role in the development of the Buddha Sasana in Sri Lanka. The Chapters of the Amarapura Nikaya and the Ramanna Nikaya stand as living proof of the close Buddhist ties that exist between Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

It is a source of a great pride and satisfaction to us that Myanmar was among the first group of countries in which Sri Lanka opened a resident Diplomatic mission soon after gaining independence in 1948. I also recall that in 1954 Myanmar was one of the countries present at the Colombo Powers Meeting when the Non Aligned Movement was conceived. The foreign policy agenda of my government gives high priority to forging close relations with fraternal Asian countries.

The traditional friendship which I have just referred to has to be further strengthened by developments in our economic relations. Through the Second Joint Commission Meeting we must endeavour to build on the existing ties and explore new areas of cooperation which would lead to further collaboration in trade and investment, air links and further cooperation in the field of religious and Buddhist education. The mechanism of the Joint Commission will establish the pathway to make further progress in these sectors.

Not only do we seek to expand the volume of bilateral trade, we look forward to welcoming joint ventures from Myanmar. It is also heartening to note that a Business Delegation for Myanmar will be visiting Sri Lanka this week to interact with the Chambers of Commerce of Sri Lanka and discuss avenues to further expand our trading links.

With a view to increasing the trade volume between Sri Lanka and Myanmar it is imperative that we establish a working group at an appropriate Senior Official level to study the current barrier to trade and to propose suitable remedies. Since a drawback in promoting trade is a lack of direct sea and air links between the two countries, I am glad that an invitation has been extended by the Sri Lankan Aviation Authorities to their Myanmar counterparts, to visit Sri Lanka at a mutually convenient time for bilateral discussions.

I invite the Myanmar business leaders to explore the possibility of investing in Sri Lanka and take the advantage of the benefit granted under Sri Lanka’s bilateral Free Trade Agreement with India and Pakistan.

There is another facet of our relations and this is the field of tourism. Considering the close ties between our countries in the cultural field and the tourist attractions offered by Sri Lankan there is potential for further expansion in the area of tourism. In view of the close affinity of culture and religion, there is much potential for promoting and marketing, cultural, tourism and Buddhist pilgrimage tours between the two countries. It would be very much appreciated if on a reciprocal basis both sides can agree to consider the possibility of waving the visa fees for pilgrim travellers as well as for Buddhist monks engaged in Buddhist studies.

Keeping in view our close cultural links it would be feasible to consider signing MoU between the Independent Television Net work in Sri Lanka and the Myanmar Radio and Television to exchange documentaries on religious and cultural matters. This could be further expanded to include exchange of media personnel of the two countries as well.

Excellency,

I wish to express my gratitude for the decision of the Myanmar Government to donate a Tusker to Sri Lanka, I am happy to inform the arrangements regarding the transportation of the Tusker would be looked after by the Sri Lanka side.

I would also like to reiterate the request by H.E. the President of Sri Lanka during the State Visit to Myanmar regarding the possibility of obtaining marble for the purpose of building “Stupas” in the nine provinces of Sri Lanka.

I am also pleased to inform that Sri Lanka will draw up a work plan for the implementation of the MoU on cultural cooperation signed between our two countries in 2007.

Excellency,

Sri Lanka faces a challenging task, we have tread a new path of peace and reconciliation. I am happy to inform you that we have been able to unify the entire country from the yoke of terrorism and liberate the areas which were under the control of the LTTE for the past 26 years. Our existing security cooperation can be further strengthened to ensure that both our countries can be freed from the scourge of terrorism and conflict forever. Despite the military defeat of the LTTE in Sri Lanka it should be borne in mind that the activities of LTTE networks overseas including its front organisations and pro LTTE groups continue to be active. We are grateful for the support extended by Myanmar in not allowing any group to use its territory to undertake hostile acts against Sri Lanka. Continued vigilance in this regard is very much appreciated. It would be beneficial if there is regular exchange of intelligence sharing between the intelligence agencies of Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

As active members of BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) Asia Cooperation Dialogue and the Colombo Plan both Sri Lanka and Myanmar match the quest for economic growth whilst aiming for sustainable human development and measures to improve the quality of life of our peoples. We in Sri Lanka are very glad that Myanmar has obtained “observer” status at SAARC in 2008 and believe that this paves the way for improved regional connections.

Excellency,

It is my fervent wish that this Second Session of the Joint Commission, in the year that we commemorate 60 years of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations, will provide the necessary impetus to further develop and consolidate the bonds of friendship and cooperation that so happily exist between Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

-Sri Lanka Guardian