INDIAN ASSISTANCE FOR PROJECTS IN SRI LANKA IMMENSE: BASIL

Though there remains a dire need for more development projects to be launched in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa said that the Government of India had been assisting the Sri Lankan Government in other areas as well and hoped that areas such as Gampaha may get new projects under the Government of India’s assistance programme.

He said that the Government of India had been continuously providing assistance for a variety of projects covering different sectors to help the people of Sri Lanka.

He made this comment while inau- gurating the first language lab built with Indian assistance in the Gampaha District in the Western Province. The project to set up nine language laboratories in the nine provinces of Sri Lanka was officially launched at Gampaha by Minister Rajapaksa and K. Sinha, the High Commissioner of India, at a function held at Kimbulgoda Maha Vidyalaya in Gampaha.

The Minister noted that the language labs set up by the Government of India in Sri Lanka would benefit the younger generation and help them to learn English and benefit from it as a life skill.

The High Commissioner, in his remarks, emphasized that India and Sri Lanka share a dynamic and multi-face- ted relationship, rooted in history, language, culture, religion and trade and that the relations between the two countries have matured and diversified with the passage of time, encompassing all areas of contemporary relevance. As part of Development Cooperation with Sri Lanka, the Government of India had attached high priority to the education sector. He said that the Government of India was offering 720 scholarships every year to support students from Sri Lanka to pursue higher education in Sri Lanka and India.