MESSAGE FROM H.E ERIC LAVERTU, AMBASSADOR OF FRANCE TO SRI LANKA AND THE MALDIVES
As we celebrate today the storming of the Bastille, and in the light of the horrific events of Easter Sunday, I wish to reaffirm the values we hold dear: unity, freedom, fraternity and the respect of human rights. Our deepest compassion and solidarity go to all the families affected. France and the European Union stand together with Sri Lanka in the fight against extremism, hatred and intolerance because we too, like many other countries around the globe, are facing these challenges. From our recent experience, we learnt that the message is certainly firmness, justice and rule of law, but also that in the darkest moments of the history of a country and a people, there is the certainty that tomorrow will be more beautiful and that we always overcome grief, anger and despair.
It is in this mindset that we launched in June the 8th edition of the French Spring Festival to promote French culture and enhance our relations with Sri Lanka. Culture is, more than ever, the best way for mutual understanding and dialogue between people. Cooperation between Artists and cultural diversity are the core values reflected by the festival. France also pays a very special attention to education and academic cooperation with Sri Lanka. France has a lot to offer in terms of higher education: studies in top universities are cheaper than nearly anywhere else for foreign students, due to high subsidies from the French government, and hundreds of Masters are directly taught in English. To better promote this offer, we initiated several co-operation projects with Sri Lankan universities and schools, and organized last January the first “Choose France” expo, with 10 schools specially invited from France. Our collaboration with Sri Lanka also extends to other fields. Earlier this year, in February, the French Agency for Development (AFD) signed a loan agreement with Sri Lankan government to fund a project which aims at supporting urban sanitation in Colombo metropolitan area. It also earmarked 3 million EUR to contribute to the preservation of coastal biodiversity and natural heritage, to preserve and encourage economic opportunities, and to strengthen social link. This echoes the Declaration of Intent that was signed on May 17th, 2018 between France and Sri Lanka to reinforce bilateral cooperation and exchanges in the field of blue economy. In 2019, we also put the spotlight on biodiversity with a conference held in Colombo a few weeks ago focusing on primary forest preservation and mitigation measures as well as human/elephant conflicts. On this very important question I would like to quote President Macron: “Biodiversity is an issue as important as climate change and we will only win the battle if we combine these two goals and act on every leverages to reverse the trend”. It shows our common interest to work together to win this battle! I shall conclude by saying again to all Sri Lankans how deeply affected we were by the Easter tragedy. But we have no doubt that Sri Lanka and its people will overcome these sad moments. We stand firmly with the country, sharing our common ideals and, in the first place, our love for Freedom, our desire for Equality and our obligation of Fraternity!