Sri Lanka has called for a global coordinated effort to fight terrorism, over four years after the military defeated the LTTE. The call was made by Secretary to the Ministry of Defence and Urban Development Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
The Defence Secretary was addressing the 2013 Galle Dialogue International Maritime Conference which opened at the Light House Hotel in the Port City of Galle. Themed “Emerging Maritime Trends in the Indian Ocean” the conference is being attended by marine and naval experts of 35 countries. The address at the first sessions was delivered by President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunge. In his keynote address Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa said that some countries are selective in their fight against terrorism. The fight against terrorism is a global one against an enemy defined by its deliberate targeting of civilians to achieve its goal. Terrorism should be crushed wherever it emerges and nations should support each other’s efforts to do so wholeheartedly. Mr. Rajapaksa said there is a need for genuine cooperation among nations at the highest level to defeat terrorism.
The Defence Secretary said Sri Lanka today is a country in the midst of rapid economic development. After having suffered for three decades of war, there is a great pent up potential in this country that is only now being realised. Channelling this potential and ensuring rapid and equitable growth for all our people is one of the primary concerns of the Government in the present era. It is in this context that Sri Lanka has launched an ambitious “5-hub” growth strategy that aims to position the country as a Naval, Aviation, Commercial, Energy and Knowledge hub in this region. Mr. Rajapaksa pointed out that the Naval hub concept seeks to maximise the potential of Sri Lanka’s strategic position at the intersection of major international sea trading routes in the Indian Ocean.
Organized under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence, the meeting will deliberate on illegal migration and violation of maritime boundaries among other issues.
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