Your Worship Mayor of Colombo, Prasana Gunawardena, Mrs. Gunawardena, Honourable Ministers, Members of Parliament, Members of the Colombo Municipal Council, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is indeed a great privilege and honour for me to receive the Golden Key to Colombo. I thank you for that singular honour, which I regard as one given to the people of the Maldives.
I thank you also for the warm reception that you have extended to me, my wife and the members of my delegation.
We have been deeply touched by the sincere welcome that has been given to us by the government and people of Sri Lanka since our arrival yesterday in this beautiful city of Colombo. I bring to the friendly people of Sri Lanka the warm greetings and good wishes of the people of the Maldives for their progress, prosperity and peace.
The Venetian traveller Marco Polo, who had visited many parts of the world of his day, described Ceylon, or Zellan as it was known to him, as the finest island of its size in the world. As inhabitants of an island nation just next door, we always feel drawn by the charms of this unique island and its friendly people.
My wife and I have greatly looked forward to this visit, especially as it is our first visit to Sri Lanka in the new millennium. Not only are the relations between our two countries very close at the official level, but our two peoples also share very strong and wide-ranging ties of friendship that date back to hundreds of years.
Our history leaves us a shared legacy of cultural, linguistic, and social affinities. These provide a sound and resilient basis to develop mutual understanding and appreciation. Interaction between our two nations, based on these bonds and strengthened further by geographical nearness and shared principles, has contributed to a relationship that is vital and highly beneficial to both countries.
Your Worship:
Sri Lanka is a most valuable friend of the Maldives. It has made an important contribution to our social and economic progress, especially in developing our human resources. Today, several thousand Sri Lankans live and work in the Maldives, contributing to our national development. And a large number of our young women and men travel to Sri Lanka to study in your fine schools and colleges. Trade and economic relations are greatly increasing, and the outlook for the future is indeed bright.
Your Worship:
As small island developing states, the Maldives and Sri Lanka share many concerns and interests. Through the SAARC process, we have asserted our common aims in promoting regional peace and development. We share membership in a number of international organisations that we believe are important forums to promote worldwide peace and co-operation. The Maldives believes that the current international circumstances call for close consultation and peaceful collaboration among all nations, and for a reaffirmation of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and respect for international law and human dignity.
Today, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are on the threshold of a new era of success and progress for their peoples. Now that peace is returning to Sri Lanka, there is real hope that your country can concentrate its energies on strident national development. In the Maldives, too, the momentum of development is widening our economic horizons in keeping with the goals of our Vision 2020. We are striving to make that spirited sprint from history to destiny.
Your Worship, Honourable Councillors, Ladies and Gentlemen:
As neighbours, Sri Lanka and the Maldives share a common fate. It is with that perception, and with the fondness that one holds towards genuine friends, that we wish success for the great efforts that your government and people are making towards the social and economic development of your beloved homeland.
May our two countries and peoples enjoy everlasting friendship, and continued success in our endeavours to promote national progress, prosperity and happiness!
Thank you.