India's 66th Republic Day celebrations in Sri Lanka
The High Commission of India and the Indian expatriate community in Sri Lanka celebrated the 66th Republic Day of India on Monday, January 26, 2015 at India House in Colombo. High Commissioner Mr. Y.K. Sinha unfurled the Indian flag and inspected a Guard of Honour presented by a contingent of the Border Security Force. He read out significant excerpts from the Address to the Nation on the eve of the Republic Day by the Hon´ble President of India Mr. Pranab Mukherjee.
Speaking about the state of India-Sri Lanka relations, High Commissioner highlighted that India shares a special relationship with Sri Lanka which is not just geographical, but dictated by ties of shared religions, cultural practices, family linkages, linguistic commonalities, economic interlinkages, and political understanding between two democracies. He congratulated the people of Sri Lanka on the peaceful conduct of the elections, and stated that India stands ready to continue to provide support and partnership to Sri Lanka in realizing its people’s aspirations. He noted that electoral victory of President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Maithripala Sirisena, is a tribute to his capacity to respond to Sri Lankan people’s yearning for change.
High Commissioner also stated that India and Sri Lanka enjoy a vibrant and growing economic and commercial partnership, with both trade and investment expanding sharply in recent years. Bilateral trade witnessed an upswing in 2014 and in the period January- November 2014, amounted to nearly US$ 4 billion. Robust trade in goods has promoted bilateral investment. Premier Indian companies have displayed great interest in Sri Lanka .The ‘Make in India’ initiative will attract more Sri Lanka companies to invest in India. High Commissioner said that both countries should now focus on attention on investments and services sector by forging linkages across the production and supply chains of the two countries.
High Commissioner noted that one important pillar of modern India-Sri Lanka relations is development cooperation, which has been built on the foundation of mutual trust and understanding. The flagship Indian Housing Project in Sri Lanka continues to make excellent progress, with the project reaching its target of constructing 16,000 houses during 2014. With the achievement of this important milestone, a total of 27,000 houses have been constructed under this project till date. The reconstruction of the railway line up to Jaffna, carried out under a concessional Indian Line of Credit of about US$ 800 million, was a seminal moment. With the inauguration of this segment of the railway track, the "Yal Devi" Express that used to ply on this route, resumed its services to Jaffna, reconnecting Jaffna to Colombo by rail after more than 24 years. All these projects illustrate the tangible benefits that can be achieved through South-South cooperation.
He added that the prosperity and security of the two countries is indivisible. India looks forward to working with the new Government of Sri Lanka to take the bilateral relationship to the next level for the benefit of the people of the two countries and the South Asian region as a whole.
To commemorate India´s 66th Republic Day, famous Indian sitar maestro, Shri Niladri Kumar, and his group, who are visiting Sri Lanka with the sponsorship of the India-Sri Lanka Foundation, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, Lanka IOC, Lanka Leyland and Taj Samudra, presented a concert of fusion music titled “Salute: Celebrating India” on January 25, 2015 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium, Colombo. Hon. Ms. Rosy Senanayake, State Minister for Child Development of Sri Lanka, was the Chief Guest on the occasion. The performance was extremely well received.
