The Hon. Ruwan Wijeweera

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, at this Committee Stage debate we discuss the Votes of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism. Thank you for the opportunity.

¶ 02 In setting foreign policy, several factors matter: a country’s geostrategic location, the nature of its physical and natural resources, socio-economic patterns and human resources.

¶ 03 Historically, Sri Lanka established and safeguarded its distinct identity regionally and globally—Serendib, Seilan, Ceylon, Ratnadeepa—whatever the name, our foreign policy placed us on the global map. However, in recent times we maintained a very weak foreign policy—foreign service, foreign employment and tourism were heavily politicized, rife with nepotism and cronyism, rewarding “our people”.

¶ 04 I browsed an article in The Sunday Times titled “Foreign service or family service?” It stated: “An unprecedented number of positions in Sri Lanka’s once-respected diplomatic corps has been parcelled out to friends, relatives and loyalists of the ruling party.” It listed 43 names beyond ambassadorial posts—e.g., Srimal Wickramasinghe, DCM (Ambassador rank), Vienna—brother of First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa; H.N.B. Rathnayake, Second Secretary, Moscow—son of Minister C. B. Rathnayake; Pradeep Jayawardena, Consul General, Frankfurt—grandson of President J. R. Jayewardene; Chamithri Rambukwella, Second Secretary, New York—daughter of Minister Keheliya Rambukwella; Osanda Yapa Abeywardena, First Secretary, Melbourne—son of Lakshman Abeywardena. This is how nepotism degraded the quality of the Service. If quality had been maintained, fine; but it was not. Our NPP Government has taken the Foreign Service from tribalism to professionalism, and we pledge not to appoint our family or relatives into such posts. We will ensure merit and qualifications prevail.

¶ 05 On tourism: I represent Monaragala District in Uva Province. Uva contributes roughly 4% to GDP; Monaragala even less. Yet Monaragala has enormous potential in tourism and agriculture to contribute to the national economy.

¶ 06 Historian Rubeiru wrote that few large countries—Brazil, Arabia, Persia, India, Siam, China—match the richness packed into tiny Sri Lanka; its beauty, bounty and capacity lie concentrated due to its smallness. That encapsulates our untapped potential. Post-independence, we failed to harness it properly.

¶ 07 Under the NPP’s policy, the Tourism Ministry is working to develop Monaragala. We are advancing a city branding concept. Kataragama is a multicultural and multireligious city; under city branding, we will develop the area as a tourism hub. A major meeting was held in Kataragama yesterday on this.

¶ 08 We are establishing new tourism zones across the country and upgrading existing ones. The Hon. Minister has stated that from roughly two million tourists annually, we plan to reach three million by year-end. To provide the quality service those three million demand, we are developing new zones and enhancing facilities.

¶ 09 We will also ease congestion at Yala National Park by opening a special entrance from Maligawila, which itself has historical significance. With Monaragala’s Maragala mountain range, Yudaganawa stupa and other heritage sites, and linking Siyambalanduwa and Pottuvil as bases, we will transform the district into a distinctive tourism centre.

¶ 10 Bringing all this together, we intend to develop the economy through tourism. This must be a team effort of all citizens—Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all communities—to build a wonderful nation.