Your Excellency Mr. J.R. Jayewardene, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and Madam Jayewardene:
It is with great pleasure that I rise to greet you this evening. Mr. President and Madam, we welcome you and members of your delegation as honoured guests from our closest friend and neighbour, Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka, Your Excellency, Madam, is a country with which we have enjoyed the strongest of links throughout our known history. It is no surprise then that Maldivians, who visit your shores, have fond memories to recall of your “Resplendent Land” be it of its exotic fruits, of its rich and exciting culture, or of the picturesque sights you see on a trip to Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura. More importantly, we recall that special element of friendship and hospitality that make a visit to Sri Lanka such a memorable experience. I would therefore like to convey to Your Excellency and your gracious wife, how pleased my wife and I are to be given this opportunity to welcome you in the Maldives and to reciprocate, even on a modest scale, the hospitality you and your people showed us during our official visit to your country three years ago.
Mr. President, your visit to the Maldives is indeed an important landmark in the history of our relations, for you are the first head of state from Sri Lanka to visit the Maldives. I have no doubt that your visit will further enhance the existing ties of friendship and co-operation between our two nations in all fields. Sri Lanka has been our constant friend. She has never failed to help us whenever we needed her help - be it in education, health services, transport or in any other field. Your Excellency, we want you to know that we are grateful.
Your Excellency, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Were one of the pressmen to ask me sometime during this visit - unless they have rested their pencils for the time being - on the origins of the Maldivian-Sri Lankan relations, I would not be able to give a definite answer. We know that they go very far back into history. More than that, we know that some of our early ancestors had come from Ceylon and that some of our two nations’ first settlers were of the same ethnic origin. Also known is that the Maldivian dialect spoken in our southernmost atolls resembles, both in form and sound, Elu, the Sinhalese spoken in Sri Lanka upto the 8th or 9th century.
Even in the old days, when travelling at sea was hard and tedious, many Maldivians set sail to your bountiful land. They sold fish, and in return, bought for their wives and children dress material, spices, and other goods. The introduction of regular air services between our two capitals since the early 70s has led to increased interaction between our two peoples. A large number of Sri Lankans are now working in the Maldives - some as teachers, accountants or mechanics, while many others are engaged in business, or work in our tourist resorts and factories. They are quite happy here and we are happy to have them. Scores of our countrymen also reside in Sri Lanka whether to do business, undergo medical treatment or seek further education. In all these situations, both here and in Sri Lanka, a happy accord has always prevailed between our two peoples.
Mr. President, it is a fact that your Government has consistently kept the ordinary man’s interest in the forefront. The economic and social policies that you personally have initiated have earned confidence both at home and abroad. The Accelerated Mahaveli Development Programme, the One Million Houses Scheme, the Free School Book Scheme and the Mahapola Students Scholarship Scheme, to name but a few, are all admirable programmes which you have introduced for the early economic and social betterment of your people betterment in the sense of providing the people with more knowledge from which to choose, more economic opportunities by which to subsist and advance, and more revenue with which the country can invest for tomorrow’s youth. These are great achievements that will always be associated with your Government.
Turning to a less happy situation, may I say here, in the manner of a true friend, how concerned we are over the acts of violence that have plagued your peaceful nation for some years now. All too often in peace time, we forget the ideals that once we strived so hard to attain. We know that all the people of Sri Lanka Sinhalese, Tamils and Muslims had waged a common struggle, as one people, to gain Sri Lanka’s independence. Now the situation has changed. The stability and welfare of your nation is at stake. We believe that peace in Sri Lanka is crucial to the stability and progress of the whole region. Your Excellency, our hope is no different from yours. May your country soon attain peace and racial harmony for which it has been known throughout its history.
I wish to say here, Your Excellency, that we find great merit in the philosophy of non-violence which you have championed for so long. In fact, belief in non-violence is an important aspect of the cultural heritage we share with you. Islam is a religion of peace, compassion and non-violence. We feel close affinity with the words of Buddha in the karaniya-metta discourse: “May the mind be suffused in the right direction whether above, below or across, wherever needed, bringing love, compassion and kindness unto all peoples.”
On international issues, both the Maldives and Sri Lanka hold identical views which, if we ponder as to their origins, stem from the common values we seek and uphold - peace, universal friendship, justice and respect for others. It is to further these ideals that we have consistently supported the cause of sovereign independence and territorial integrity of all nations, including your own. It is to promote the same ideals that both our countries have supported the UN Declaration on the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace. Our desire for peaceful development of the region was also evident in the positive role our two Governments have played in the establishment of SAARC. Much progress has been achieved in developing the structure of SAARC and in co-ordinating action among the seven member states within a remarkably short period of time. We have every hope that our new Association, as it gains momentum, will bring the peoples of this region closer together than ever before.
Mr. President, the rapidly growing co-operation between our two nations can best be seen in the number of agreements we have co-signed. To date, the number has been seven, with an eighth agreement on Scientific and Technological Co-operation - to be signed during your current visit. I am told that Sri Lanka, like the Maldives, has not signed this many number of agreements with any other country, a fact of which we are proud. On this happy note, I would like to conclude. May your short stay in our land be full of happy memories to carry with you home, specially of the affection that we have for you.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:
I now invite you to raise your glasses to join me in a toast:
To the health and happiness of His Excellency Mr. J.R Jayewardene, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, and Madam Jayewardene;
To the continued progress and prosperity of the people of Sri Lanka; and
To the continued brotherhood, friendship and mutual co-operation between our two Governments and peoples.