Sri Lanka would like to see the people-to-people contact with Maldives passed onto generations, says Sri Lankan Parliamentarian Namal Rajapaksa.
The former First Son said this during an exclusive interview with RaajjeTV, where he also highlighted that it’s always good to communicate with your neighboring leadership.
He said this in light of the discussions he had held with various government officials during his visit to Maldives last week.
During his trip, Rajapaksa said that he had met with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, his deputy Faisal Naseem, Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed and a few cabinet ministers and MPs to brief them on the current situation and occurrences in Sri Lanka.
Further, he had discussed ways to work together in cooperation when it comes to national security because the security of both countries is important for regional security. He also said that political and economic stability in our counties is very vital and pivotal for both nations as both countries are highly dependent on the tourism industry.
“It is important to believe that Sri Lanka’s stability is important to the Maldives and Maldives stability is important to Sri Lanka,”Rajapaksa
When asked whether he believes the climate has changed compared to when Abdulla Yameen was in power, the politician stated that people have the right to elect whichever government they want and that it is the nature of politics and the right of the people.
“I believe the policies should remain because in modern context it’s not about majority in the government or parliament. It’s about consistency of policies and having economic, political, social and national security policies to have continuity. That’s what matters. We believe stability in Maldives is very vital.”Rajapaksa
Rajapaksa, an opposition member of Sri Lanka, said that any government who comes into power must concentrate on what they promised to their people and not to overshadow the opposition. He said that it is up to politicians, government, parliament and cabinet to make sure to uphold the values of being elected and the promises made to the people are delivered. He said that this is what needs to be kept in mind whichever government comes into power.
Shedding light on Sri Lanka’s recovery from the devastating Easter Sunday bombings, the parliamentarian said that the government of Sri Lanka had failed to act on the info receives.
“We came to Maldives to meet the leadership here and to meet the people and tell them that Sri Lanka is a safe place. Because SL and Maldives have very strong relations and there are many Maldivians living in SL many students there. We as the opposition, current opposition leader has gone out of his way to assist the current government,”Rajapaksa
About the Maldivians arrested in Sri Lanka during the state of emergency, Rajapaksa said that it is natural to act vigilant once something of that magnitude takes place and that the government had acted on certain information they received following which they conducted investigations, made a few arrests and questioned a few.
Although nothing was wrong, those things have to be dealt delicately as national security comes first and there was nothing premeditated or concentrated on Maldives of any race in Sri Lanka and was purely based on suspicions, said the MP.
Rajapaksa also stated that he believes the student-visa problem for Maldivians will improve in the near future as right off the incident, there was tight security.
In conclusion, the Sri Lankan politician stated that Sri Lanka is a safe place despite internal political turbulence which have nothing to do with neighboring countries.
Rajapaksa was in the Maldives on a two-day official visit during which he met and held discussions with government officials.
