Vadodara: Sri Lanka`s High Commissioner
Prasad Kariyawasam Thursday said here his country was against any
"third party regional" intervention in Maldives where
President Mohamed Nasheed was recently ousted.
Talking to PTI after inaugurating a two-day National HRD
Conclave of Federation of Gujarat Industries here, Kariyawasam
said "there should be no third-party regional intervention
(in Maldives), and India has taken a right stand on the
issue."
Asked about India`s claim on permanent membership of UN
security council, he said Sri Lanka backed India on this.
Talking about the recent incident of firing by Sri Lankan
Navy on fishermen from Tamil Nadu, the High Commissioner
denied the Navy had opened fire but agreed that there should
be an agreement among SAARC countries on releasing fishermen
straying into foreign waters within fifteen days.
About trade/industry cooperation between the two
countries, he said NTPC had inked a joint venture pact with
Ceylon Electricity Board to set up a 500 MW coal-based power
plant in Sri Lanka and the work on it would start in a month.
The plant, with an investment of USD 800 million, would
come up at Sampur and is expected to go on stream by 2016.
Talking about the post-LTTE development in the areas held
earlier by the insurgents, he said Sri Lankan government had
successfully completed reconstruction of government buildings,
roads, houses, places of worship and infrastructure facilities
in the North and the East, which had revived the economy in
these parts.
PTI
