Sri Lanka should continue cordial relations with China -- ex-envoy to UN

ex-envoy to UN

COLOMBO, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York, who was also once the Secretary to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Dr Palitha T.B. Kohona, on Sunday said that Sri Lanka should continue to foster cordial relations with China.

Kohona told the local 'Sunday Leader' newspaper that China has been a persistently reliable ally of Sri Lanka in international fora.

"My fervent hope is that we will continue to foster our warm relations with China. Our interactions with China began centuries ago, as evidenced by archeological findings and contemporary records, through the bridge of Buddhism and trade. More recently, since independence, we developed the bilateral relationship on the basis of mutual respect, trust and non-interference in the internal affairs of each other," he said.

Kohina said that China played a critical role in assisting Sri Lanka to defeat the challenge of terrorism when others were dithering.

Sri Lanka defeated Tamil Tiger rebels in May 2009 after 30 years of war and China was one of the main countries which supported moves to defeat the rebels militarily after attempts to reach a negotiated settlement had failed.

"Since the end of the conflict, at a time when funding for urgently required infrastructure development was scarce internationally or subject to untenable conditions, China stepped up with funding with no strings attached," Kohona noted.

He also noted that the current enviable spurt in Sri Lanka's economic performance could to some extent be attributed to the spillover effect of infrastructure development and Chinese funding.

"China has been an all-weather friend of this country. China will continue to be the major source of funding for the global economy and an increasingly dominant international trading partner, " he added. Endi