Today, the 4th February 2009 marks a very significant day being the 61st Anniversary of Sri Lanka's Independence from colonial rule. I would on this occasion extend to the people of Pakistan, greetings and best wishes on behalf of H.E. the President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, the government and the people of Sri Lanka.
From almost the beginning of our independence Pakistan has been a very close, cordial and co-operative friend, always ready to assist in times of need. After independence, our bilateral relationship has been a comprehensive, multifaceted and all embracing relationship extending to the entire government of socio, economic, political, cultural and education and defence spheres.
Political or regime change in either country has not affected this relationship in any way. In fact the frequent and regular contacts through high level visits and regular discussion between the leaders of the two countries helped in renewing and reinforcing the relationship further. Sri Lanka and Pakistan which was then part of India have been trading partners from historical times. The trend continued after Pakistan was created and Sri Lanka became independent, and was given a boost in 2005 when Pakistan signed its first Free Trade Agreement with Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka Pakistan relationship has not been limited only to trade and a special mention must be made about the assistance given by the Government of Pakistan to Sri Lanka on the defence field. It is no secret to any Sri Lankan that the assistance given by Pakistan is what has contributed mostly to crush the terrorism in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka is also on the verge of eradicating the menace that troubled the country for the last three decades. It is with a sense of gratitude that we mention that defence relationship definitely has strengthened the relationship between our two friendly countries.
If you look back on this 61st Independence day what have been achieved by the military is remarkable, in spite of the ongoing war against terrorism for the last three decades, Sri Lanka economy has grown steadily and had been maintaining a very high degree of literacy rate. Even when looking at all other social indexes such as child mortality rate and gender equality, Sri Lanka has been maintaining a very high ranking, in some instances, above some of the developed countries.
A special mention must also be made to the Sri Lankan military who had been performing extremely creditably to clear almost all the country out of the clutches of terrorism. Their dedication, commitment and the patriotism, would undoubtedly, go down in the annals of the history of Sri Lanka. Their efforts and achievements had afforded the government to declare the coming year as Year of Peace. I am confident that the country would see further peace and progress in the coming years.
On this National Day I would like to take this opportunity to wish the people and the government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Sri Lankan community residing in Pakistan, peace and prosperity in the coming years.