FNO Secretary appeals to JVP

 Sri Lanka must first address serious issues relating to existing agreements with India before entering into new ones, Federation of National Organizations (FNO) Secretary Dr. Wasantha Bandara says.

Dr. Bandara said on Tuesday that Sri Lanka’s trade with India was less than five percent of its overall trade with the world, despite a number of trade agreements, while Colombo’s trade with the US, a country thousands of kilometers away, was about 25 percent.

“What does this show? There are other issues that prevent the increase of trade. What are the economic complementarities between the two countries? The government must think about these,” he said.

Bandara said that India, as the larger economy, must take steps to increase imports from Sri Lanka. “Allow Sri Lankan exports to India to rise to about 10-15 percent of its total exports. Then the distrust Sri Lankans have about Indian intentions will go away, creating a more conducive environment to boost ties,” he said.

Dr. Bandara said the JVP has made enormous sacrifices in the past to protect Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. “About 60,000 JVP members sacrificed their lives in the 1980s to ensure that Sri Lanka didn’t become a federal state. I urge the President to think his party’s legacy when he deals with India,” the FNO Secretary said. (RK)