Sri Lanka keen to be fully independent and sovereign

Sri Lanka is keen to be fully independent and sovereign and not agree on certain matters with some countries purely because of the issues with the local economy, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.

Speaking at the Foreign Ministry as it commenced work for the new year, Herath said that Sri Lanka’s main goal is to strengthen the economy towards an independent and sovereign nation.

“Even though we may not like it when we become economically bankrupt, we have had to take certain measures while thinking about our independence and sovereignty in the international arena. But if we are economically strong, we can protect our independence and sovereignty as a country and proudly uplift Sri Lanka in the international arena. Therefore, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as I said earlier, we are intervening to strengthen our economy and as a result of strengthening that economy, we must create a situation where Sri Lanka can stand tall in the world as a sovereign, free and independent country. That should be our future goal for 2025,” he said.

He said that Sri Lanka is in a very “problematic economic situation” today as a result of the policy inadequacies in history.

“All of us must have the willpower to rise from this economic crisis and rebuild this country. All of us must have the dream of building the country. I know that we all have the determination to accomplish our dreams in our private lives, our dreams in our professional lives, and our dreams for the future of our country. So, today we must step into a new courageous and robust journey to succeed all those future dreams. That is why we are preparing to step into a new journey in the new year of 2025,” he said.

The Minister also noted that in the tourism sector Sri Lanka was able to meet the target of 2 million by the end of last year.

“That is a great achievement for us. We also have the goal and determination to increase this to 3 million by 2025. It is the collective responsibility of all of us to complete it. You know that through this, our country can quickly obtain foreign exchange,” he said.

He said that Sri Lanka is also on a targeted journey to obtain foreign remittances through the foreign employment sector.? (Colombo Gazette)