The Hon. Vijitha Herath - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, the previous governments drove this country into a deep economic precipice. After we came to power, we began to methodically restore normalcy. We commenced debt restructuring—both bilateral and international sovereign bonds—and lifted the country out of the prevailing crisis.

¶ 02 Over the past year, the economy grew positively and we achieved a 5 percent growth rate. Tourism expanded rapidly and, for the first time in history, we recorded the highest number of tourist arrivals. Remittances increased to their highest level, and we earned a record US$ 8.2 billion in foreign exchange. Our exports also rose to US$ 17.2 billion. Having freed the country from years of crisis, we began to govern transparently, without corruption, and new investments started to come in with agreements being initiated. The country’s forward journey commenced on a positive path.

¶ 03 At that moment, the country faced a natural disaster—the “Ditha” cyclone. Even then, we intervened immediately and secured maximum international support. Aid flowed from many countries; assistance is still arriving. Today, the Philippines confirmed a US$ 1 million contribution. Leveraging this cooperation, we overcame the “8962” cyclone and its challenges.

¶ 04 We then resumed the major task of rebuilding the country through the “Rebuilding Sri Lanka” programme, taking steps to set the country straight within a short period. Just then, an unexpected war erupted due to global political developments. This war was not created by the present Government of Sri Lanka; it is a situation arising from geopolitics. Its repercussions are felt worldwide—affecting global energy supplies, exports, and imports—and thereby the global economy. This is not of our making nor due to any failure of our Government. At a time when we were steering the country forward successfully, the global war situation emerged.

¶ 05 With this global context have come issues related to oil and other energy supplies. We must clearly understand that, had those who governed earlier built a strong foundation to face such moments, we would have had the means to manage this situation. We lack sufficient storage to stock required fuel. If the Trincomalee oil tanks had been refurbished, we could have supplied not just Sri Lanka but the region. Since that wasn’t done, as soon as we came into office, we signed a trilateral Memorandum of Understanding among India, the United Arab Emirates, and Sri Lanka—guided by a long-term vision—to enable fuel supply through a pipeline during critical times, and to refurbish the Trincomalee BOAO oil tanks for storage. We signed it immediately after assuming office because we recognized the need for a sustainable, long-term solution rather than ad hoc responses.

¶ 06 Proper storage capacity would allow us to face any global political crisis. With adequate reserves, we could cushion global oil shocks. Hence we proceeded with the pipeline and Trincomalee tank refurbishment under the trilateral understanding. That is the path to a stable solution. We have already allocated Treasury funds and started tank refurbishments. Our aim is long-term stability for the country.

¶ 07 In such crises, we know disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz affect global oil transport and supply. I clearly stated earlier that closing the Strait of Hormuz is a concern for global oil flows. However, Sri Lanka does not transport oil through Hormuz; we do not have such vessels. We import from India, Malaysia, South Korea, and Singapore. That was our position then and remains so today. Beyond Hormuz, whenever civil order breaks down, the entire world faces these ramifications—and so do we.

¶ 08 Another factor in this war context is the incident involving the Iranian ship. Hon. Rauff Hakeem made utterly false statements in Parliament—claiming knowledge he did not have—and misled the House. There was a naval fleet exercise in Visakhapatnam, India, with the Sri Lanka Navy, three Iranian vessels, and several others participating. Of those, three vessels sought permission to call at Sri Lanka. They requested clearance on 26 February, before the war’s first strikes on 28 February. The request was to visit between 9 and 13 March on a goodwill visit—not to arrive within 11 hours. I have the TPN and the letter from the Iranian Embassy dated 26 February to our Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking a four-day goodwill visit from 9 to 13 March. Claims that authorization to arrive within 11 hours was sought and denied are baseless. Nor did the Sri Lanka Navy invite them. They asked to call on their way from India to Iran for the scheduled 9 March window.

¶ 09 The attack occurred on 4 March at 5.08 a.m. Our Southern MRCC received the alert and, within an hour, we deployed the first naval vessel; by 7.00 a.m., the second. Acting under international maritime law and on humanitarian grounds, our Navy immediately responded without regard to nationality. This action has been recognized and commended globally, even if some in the Opposition cannot accept it. Three Iranian vessels—IRIS Dena, IRIS Bushehr, and IRIS Levan—were present. One had already returned to India. They had sought permission to visit Sri Lanka between 9 and 13 March. IRIS Dena came under attack. We rescued 32 persons; they are at the Koggala Air Force Station receiving care and remain under our supervision. Sadly, 24 persons perished.

¶ 10 We completed the post-mortems and inquests, and, pursuant to court orders, handed over the remains to the Government of Iran, which accorded final rites. On 4 March, IRIS Bushehr reported an engine failure and requested permission to enter our territory. Our Navy intervened and towed the ship. It is now anchored about 95 nautical miles off Colombo. We must take it to Trincomalee, but cannot due to the engine failure; we engaged a private firm for technical assistance and will bring it to Trincomalee Port and hold it there. There were false claims about the goodwill visit and that 300 cadets were to come and we denied permission. That is untrue. The attack happened on the 4th; there was no request to come on the 4th.

¶ 11 We are hosting the rescued Iranian sailors at the Welisara Naval Base, providing food, lodging, and care at state expense. Decisions on repatriation will be strictly according to international law. We will not act in a partisan manner. We maintain friendly relations with all countries—engaging Iran and also conducting dealings with the United States.

¶ 12 To the question raised by Hon. Marikkar: the U.S. Special Envoy for South and Central Asia visited Sri Lanka—not secretly. He met the President at 10.00 a.m. today. We discussed economic, trade, and political relations with several of our Ministers present, and the media reported it. We are advancing necessary economic and trade relations with the United States. When the U.S. President’s decision imposed a 44 percent duty on us initially, through diplomatic efforts we reduced it to 20 percent—contrary to the Opposition’s claim that we could not. While we hold Iranian sailors under our authority and an Iranian ship near our waters, we also use statecraft to address U.S.-imposed economic measures in a way beneficial to Sri Lanka. This is delicate work; we will manage all relationships diplomatically and evenhandedly.

¶ 13 Regarding the current fuel situation, we have engaged China and Russia; discussions are underway, and both are intervening positively. Some sanctions issues were resolved by midnight; we met the Russian Ambassador the next day and are moving the process forward. We are also in discussion with India, including its Foreign Minister. These are encouraging.

¶ 14 However, those countries, too, face their own constraints. There are fuel issues regionally—India has gas queues; people suffer. Many countries are under strain. Given our international relationships, many are ready to help us and we will secure that assistance.

¶ 15 Finally, there is some impact on tourism. Remittances are continuing, but there are delays in outbound migrant departures due to airport disruptions; we will address that. A slowdown in tourism affects hotels; producers and exporters also face difficulties. We are preparing relief measures for the affected sectors. In this global oil crisis and wartime environment, the Government is taking daily decisions to protect the people and stabilize the country. We are committed to lifting our people out of these challenges.

¶ 16 Thank you.