The Hon. (Mrs.) Chamindranee Kiriella, Attorney-at-Law

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the time to speak primarily on foreign affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs drives a country’s foreign policy, guiding interactions with states, international organizations, NGOs and private actors to manage political, economic, defence, social and cultural interests. Since humans are political by nature, foreign relations have existed from the beginning of human interaction.

¶ 02 Sri Lanka’s foreign policy has had varying stances across Cold War and post-Cold War periods. It has been difficult for Sri Lanka to maintain a neutral, friendly foreign policy consistently, largely due to shifting internal political priorities.

¶ 03 Briefly: 1948–1956, Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake aligned with the Western Bloc for economic growth. His successor, Hon. Dudley Senanayake, signed the Rubber-Rice Pact with communist China in 1952 to address a balance-of-payments crisis; a US aid agreement, considered retaliatory, never materialized. Subsequently, Hon. S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike promoted non-alignment and friendship with all; Hon. (Mrs.) Sirimavo Bandaranaike’s policy was anti-capitalist, thus anti-West. President J.R. Jayewardene secured assistance from both capitalist and communist countries and international organizations; the UK, US, Norway and Japan became major grant donors. Under Presidents Premadasa, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and Mahinda Rajapaksa, alignments shifted with political ideology every four to five years.

¶ 04 Over 70 years, foreign policy oscillated between left and right with each leadership change. Developed countries can afford such shifts; others like China, Malaysia and Singapore achieved development through long-term, well-planned foreign policies, maintaining about 75% continuity regardless of government, leaving 25% flexible.

¶ 05 Sri Lanka, as a developing nation, would benefit from a long-term foreign policy with core continuity, regardless of which government is in power. Hon. Minister, I urge movement toward such a framework.