JEDDAH : Sri Lanka Consulate General Office in Jeddah celebrated its country’s 75th Anniversary of its independence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently.
The event was hosted by the Consul general Falah Moulana and it was attended by community members, residents and well-wishers of Sri Lanka. The island’s traditional cuisine was served for all guests at the end of the programme.
The full speech of the Consul General Moulana is as follows”
“ Saudi Arbia has always been our friend, well-wisher, and benefactor of various noble causes on our soil. Especially at a time, my country is surviving the most devastating crisis of its recent history, the presence, continuous support, and encouragement from our true friends, mean so much to us. So before moving forward, I want to express the gratitude of my people to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its good-hearted people. So, thank you for everything. The same is extended to the dignitaries representing other nations here. Thank you all for your continuous support and faith in us.
I also want to shed a bit of light on our independence movement in the 19th and 20th centuries, for our foreign friends and well-wishers. My country, despite its small size, gained immense importance since ancient times for its valuable resources, maritime access, and geostrategic location. This drew the attention of many invaders and settlers since pre-historical times, although the earlier interferences were limited to the region. While our ancestors warmly welcomed peaceful arrivals, and all the settling ethnic groups assimilated and co-existed to form the great Sri Lankan nation, it was the armed invasions that sabotaged our progress for centuries. If you visit our historical cities like Polonnaruwa and Anuradhapura, you can see what an advanced civilization we had and how these invasions razed our cities and kingdoms down. We were mostly outnumbered by our neighbours, who had larger territories and more fighters. So, we had continuous cycles of prosperity, invasion, anarchy, and resurgence right throughout. In the 16th century, the Western colonists joined this race and my country became a colony to be ruled by 3 colonial nations, Portuguese, Dutch, and British for 4 centuries.
Our forefathers, leaving aside our ethnic and religious differences, were united as one Sri Lankan race and fought and struggled for our independence for four long centuries. After many failed armed struggles, out of which the ones in 1818 and 1848 were prominent, we made it hard for the British colonists to continue ruling us. Such rebellions followed by many peaceful approaches and talks earned us independence on 4th February 1948.
Today, while we respect and honour our forefathers and foremothers for their sacrifices and struggle, we have no hard feelings for the invaders and colonists. We have passed that phase and today, Sri Lanka is a friendly and progressive nation, that wants to cooperate and collaborate with all nations across the globe to achieve national and global development goals that are indiscriminative, empowering, and sustainable.
In this mission of my nation, we have high regard for our all-weather friend, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has proven its genuine interests, intentions, and goodwill toward my nation. We are looking forward to strengthening our ties and making collaborations that will bring win-win situations for both nations. Our honorable Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry visited the kingdom recently and conducted many successful discussions and negotiations with his counterparts and respected stakeholders in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
We have a multifaceted approach to our valuable bilateral affairs that will benefit us mutually. Since human resources are the most valuable resources in my country, my government is focusing on developing our human resources largely. Instead of unskilled workers, we are looking at transforming our expatriate workforce into skilled workers and professionals whose contribution to both countries will increase quantitatively and qualitatively. We have understood that our expatriate workers have a key role to play in the country’s recovery mission, with the foreign currencies they send into the country. On the other hand, they can equally contribute to the economy and development of the countries they work in, especially when they have large dynamic economies that cannot be managed with the local workforce alone. Our dearest friend, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has been a popular work destination among our expatriate workers and we look forward to developing this further.
My country is also open to good investments that can benefit both parties mutually. We have exemplary geography, climate, infrastructure, access, expertise, and state support for the right investors. You can bring in the monetary resources, and my government and people will help you develop a successful enterprise catering to the evergrowing global markets. The labour cost is very affordable and the country has a moderate climate that will allow you to operate around the year.
We are also looking at the great prospects in promoting Islamic finance largely, which has great ethics and values that protect both lenders and borrowers, facilitate development, and promote fairness. Our foreign minister, Honorable Ali Sabry met Dr. Zamir Iqbal, Vice President of Islamic Development Bank Group, and initiated successful negotiations to collaborate on this.
We have expedited policy-level arrangements for better bilateral affairs with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and are working on an effective framework agreement.
We are also looking forward to cooperating in all industries with all our friendly nations. We are focusing on developing international trade, which will bring in more foreign currencies and help us regularize our economy. The tourism industry also has key importance in this and we work toward receiving more tourists from your respective countries. We warmly welcome your tourists to our country, avoid any inconvenience from the chaotic economic situation, and provide the best comfort. We are a hospitable nation that always believes in giving the best to our guests. You can help my nation by simply visiting us, making a memorable holiday, and buying our goods and services.
I further want to assure you that we will not only survive but also take these challenging times to learn, accomplish and grow. We are a nation of high fighting spirit that has proven its capacity for fortitude, perseverance, and resurgence. We just want our friends to keep their trust in us, back us, and support us in whatever possible way that yields mutual benefits. We are very flexible and encourage negotiations. Your governments and public and private sector organizations are most welcome to extend support and collaboration in any sector. We also love your ideas and suggestions, and innovation that can shape the future of my nation better.”
