Colombo, Jan 16 (newsin.asia) – Sri Lanka and China, on Tuesday jointly launched a book on Sino Lanka relations titled ‘The Island of the Lion and the Land of the Dragon’ in order to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.
The book consists of a series of essays on Sri Lanka, China relations compiled by Sri Lanka and Chinese scholars and is a joint publication of the Pathfinder Foundation in Sri Lanka and the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR).
Speaking at the launch, Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Governor, Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy said that China has been one of Sri Lanka’s largest development partners and a strong friend.
“This launch is the outcome of some very hard work. While Sino, Lanka relations have been excellent for many years, the future is even more exciting,” Coomaraswamy said.
While China had already contributed to Sri Lanka’s development sector and strongly supported the island in multi national and international forums, Coomaraswamy said that bilateral relations between the two countries looked even brighter with the negotiation of an FTA and the launch of the Hambantota Port development and economic zone.
He said the FTA between Sri Lanka and China would not just be a trade agreement but would also strengthen investment technology and trading.
Some of the sectors which will benefit from this FTA is high value apparel, tea, rubber products and gems and jewelry, the Central Bank Chief said.
He added that with Sri Lanka’s strong geographic location and preferential access to the Indian and European markets, Sri Lanka was an ideal country for Chinese businesses to locate to. He said Chinese businesses could take advantage of Sri Lanka’s location and have access to other markets anywhere across the world.
The Central Bank Governor said the Economic Zone in Hambantota, in Southern Sri Lanka, will also be an advantage for the economy and this will help people living below the poverty line as many jobs will be created.
Charge D’Affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Colombo, Pang Chunxue said the launch of this book was a very unique moment in the relations of Sri Lanka and China.
Pang said that while 2017 was a very important year for the bilateral relations of China and Sri Lanka due to the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 65 th anniversary of the Rubber Rice Pact, the launch of this book was a good start for 2018.
“Although we have established diplomatic relations only 60 years ago, our friendship dates back since thousands of years ago. We have achieved a lot and have progressed politically and culturally,” Pang said.
Source: https://newsin.asia/sri-lanka-china-relations-face-exciting-future-says-central-bank-chief/
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