Foreign Minister Tuomioja hopes Finnish tourists will return to Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka will recover, writes Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja on his website after visiting the island state hit by the tsunami disaster and hopes Finnish tourists will return to the paradise island. Tuomioja visited Sri Lanka over the weekend. Tuomioja writes:
After Indonesia Sri Lanka has been the second hardest hit nation by the tsunami disaster. More than 30 000 people have been killed, possibly nearly 40 000 after the hopes for finding the missing people have lapsed. Hundreds of thousands of people live in tents having lost their houses, means of living and often their family members. Tourism is in recession and the fishing industry is nearly all destroyed. However, Sri Lanka has hopes of a speedy recovery. Its economic growth has been rapid in the past few years and it has a high-level, universal education and health care systems. It is important that the reconstruction assistance pledged for Sri Lanka is fully delivered and that the aid provided reaches those who need it the most. The recovery of the Sri Lankan economy will also be promoted by the debt relief and the continuance of the Multi-Fiber Agreement which is important for the country's textile export. The bloody civil war in Sri Lanka was ceased by a truce in 2002, but there is no sign of a permanent peace agreement. At grassroots the tsunami disaster has brought the parties closer but unfortunately this does not imply that hostilities would have been permanently discontinued. Relations between Finland and Sri Lanka have been positive albeit not very close. Now that we participate in the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and are committed to the post-tsunami reconstruction our relations will become closer. It is expected and hoped that the Finnish tourists will soon return to the beaches of Sri Lanka, also known as a paradise island and not without justification.