Chinese President Xi Jinping held a welcome ceremony for visiting Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing today (Jan. 15).
At the welcome ceremony, the military band played the national anthems of Sri Lanka and China, and a 21-gun salute was fired.
Dissanayake, accompanied by Xi, reviewed the Guard of Honor of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and watched a march-past of the Guard of Honor.
Also attending the welcome ceremony were Wang Yi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and also director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, and other senior Chinese officials.
Following the initial cordial discussions between the two leaders, bilateral talks commenced.
SL, committed to jointly building the Belt and Road – AKD
Noting that China has always been a reliable friend and partner to Sri Lanka, Dissanayake said that Sri Lanka attaches great importance to its relationship with China and firmly adheres to the one-China principle.
He expressed gratitude for China’s valuable support in safeguarding Sri Lanka’s independence, sovereignty, and legitimate rights.
Sri Lanka is committed to jointly building the Belt and Road and enhancing regional connectivity, said the Sri Lankan president. He said Sri Lanka welcomes more Chinese companies to invest in the country, and expressed the willingness to strengthen cooperation with China in areas such as infrastructure, energy, agriculture, finance, poverty reduction, digital transformation, tourism, marine affairs, and personnel training.
China is an important leader among Global South countries and plays a constructive role in international affairs. Sri Lanka is willing to continue strengthening coordination and mutual support with China in multilateral forums to safeguard their common interests, said Dissanayake.
New opportunities for Sri Lanka’s development – Xi
Meanwhile, the Chinese president said that China-Sri Lanka relations now face a historic opportunity to carry forward the past and open up new prospects. Both sides should strategically grasp and advance their relationship, jointly building a China-Sri Lanka community of a shared future, he said.
Xi emphasized that China has always regarded Sri Lanka as an important partner in its neighborhood diplomacy and will continue to support Sri Lanka in maintaining its national independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. China also supports Sri Lanka in independently exploring a development path that suits its own national conditions.
China is willing to deepen political mutual trust with Sri Lanka, exchange governance and statecraft experiences, and enhance dialogue and communication between the two countries’ respective departments, Xi said.
As China further deepens reform and advances Chinese modernization, new opportunities for Sri Lanka’s development will emerge. China will actively support Sri Lanka in focusing on economic construction and advancing high-quality cooperation in the building of the Belt and Road, as well as high-quality cooperation in areas such as modern agriculture, the digital economy, and the marine economy, creating new prospects of cooperation, according to Xi.
Both sides should strengthen cultural exchanges between their peoples, Xi said. China is willing to work with Sri Lanka to enhance coordination and cooperation in multilateral institutions like the United Nations, jointly addressing major issues affecting human development, such as climate change. China is committed to fostering unity and self-strengthening among Global South countries and contributing to regional peace, stability and prosperity, he added.
After the talks, the two heads of state jointly witnessed the signing of several bilateral cooperation documents, including the plan for cooperation in joint construction of the Belt and Road, as well as agreements on Sri Lanka’s export of agricultural products to China, social welfare, and media and broadcasting.
The National People’s Power (NPP) has won the most number of seats in the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), but has not obtained enough to form a majority. The party secured 48 seats with over 81,000 votes, which is about 36.9% of the total.
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) came in second with 29 seats, followed by the United National Party (UNP) with 13 seats. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) won five and four seats respectively. Meanwhile, Independent & minor parties have secured 20 seats.
The CMC is Sri Lanka’s largest and oldest local government body.
Former State Minister Prasanna Ranaweera has surrendered to the court today (May 07).
The court had previously issued an open warrant for his arrest over allegedly selling a plot of state-owned land in Kiribathgoda to a private party by forging documents.
Several persons including former Minister Mervyn Silva are currently in remand custody over the incident.
Multiple probes have been called following revelations that over 30,000 people, mainly females had been sent overseas for employment without the mandatory job training causing a loss of over Rs.2,500 million to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment.
Already six individuals, including an Additional General Manager of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) have been interdicted, but an SLBFE source said a wider network including more officials and foreign employment agents are suspected to be involved.
In addition to an SLBFE probe, complaints will be lodged with the Criminal Investigation Department and the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption, he added.
In addition to the Additional General Manager other interdicted officers include four Arabic translators and an Administrative Officer, SLBFE sources revealed.
The fraud according to SLBFE sources had taken place during the period from 2022 to August 2024.
Investigations done by the SLBFE have unearthed that over 30,000 individuals mostly women domestic workers were exempted from the mandatory training between 2022 and August 2024 and were sent overseas for employment with the aid of forged documents.
Racketeers had prepared forged documents to show first time overseas employment seekers had prior overseas employment experience in order to avoid the SLBFE mandatory training and relevant fees.
Employment seekers had been charged fees ranging from Rs.70,000 to Rs.130,000 which racketeers allegedly had pocketed, sources said. The SLBFE authorities had issued a circular sometime back allowing those with prior experience and training to migrate for employment again after submitting documental proof regarding their expertise and experience. A committee appointed by the SLBFE approves such employment departures after perusing the relevant documents.
The first time domestic workers are subjected to a training and a fee of around Rs.28,000.
An SLBFE source said racketeers had even forged travel documents and prepared bogus job agreements to show foreign employment aspirants possessed prior experience.
The source also said information has emerged about many female migrant workers who went for overseas jobs in the above manner facing risks and difficulties and even abuse at times due to lack of experience and training.
(dailynews.lk)
(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by dailynews.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)
