Daily News Editorial

Boost for Lanka-US ties

11 February 2017

The United States is very much in the news these days, with the global media following every move of the newly installed President Donald Trump. Sri Lankans too are eagerly following events in the US, which does have a large number of Sri Lankan Americans.

The US-Sri Lanka relationship has flourished and endured all these years, although there was a dip in ties during the second term of the previous administration, which differed sharply from Washington on Human Rights and other concerns expressed following the end of the conflict in 2009. The US sponsored several resolutions against Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council, which Sri Lanka lost.

The National Unity Government elected two years ago reached out to the US and has largely been able to mend the fences. Working on the principle that restoring human rights and addressing accountability issues matter mostly to Sri Lankans, not necessarily to the International Community, the Government has been able to win back the confidence of the latter. The authorities have realised that a strong local human rights framework can actually lead to less foreign intervention, a fact that the previous Government failed to grasp. The Government has since co-sponsored a UNHRC Resolution in Sri Lanka. US-Sri Lanka ties and Sri Lanka’s ties with the West in general, are now on a very strong footing.

It was recently reported that US Vice President Mike Pence had spoken over the telephone with President Maithripala Sirisena on taking the mutual ties forward. The President has also written to the US President on a range of bilateral issues. President Trump’s foreign policies that apparently call for less interest and intervention in the affairs of third countries may be beneficial for Sri Lanka in the long term. However, cooperation and mutual interest in areas such as democratic frameworks and institutions, common to both countries, are likely to be enhanced.

It is in this context that we should analyze the comments made during Sri Lanka’s Independence Day celebrations in Washington, D.C. by Acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Bruce Wharton who said that “Sri Lanka has the potential to become the next Asian Tiger”. He has lauded the Government's renewed commitment towards reconciliation and the unprecedented level of cooperation between the two countries.

“The United States will continue to stand with you as your friend and your partner. While our level of cooperation today is unprecedented, there is always more progress to be made,” Wharton has said. He has noted that Sri Lanka boasts one of the most strategic maritime locations in the entire Indo-Pacific: at the nautical crossroads of Africa, South Asia, and East Asia, with the Strait of Hormuz to its west and the Strait of Malacca to its east. “Forty per cent of all seaborne oil passes through the former and half the world's merchant fleet capacity sails through the latter, making the sea lanes off of Sri Lanka's southern coast some of the world's most important economic arteries,” Wharton said. This in fact resonates with the Government’s drive to boost operations at the Hambantota international port and also the Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport.

Sri Lankan Ambassador to the US Prasad Kariyawasam has said Sri Lanka looks forward to working with new US Administration to build on the exponential progress of the multi-faceted bilateral relationship, nurtured especially during the last two years. The appointment of Rex Tillerson as US Secretary of State bodes well for Sri Lanka, with his worldview and interactions with world leaders in his capacity as the former CEO of Exxon Mobil, one of the biggest companies in the world. There is no doubt that a meeting between Tillerson and our dynamic Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera will follow soon which will no doubt set the agenda for even better ties. True, both allies and foes of US have viewed with concern the somewhat unconventional foreign policy approaches of the new US President, but the overall status quo on South Asian relations is likely to prevail with Tillerson at the helm of State Department. It needs to appoint new personnel to some of the vacant South Asian desks to streamline this process.

The US and European Union account for more than 75 percent of our exports, but we should strive to increase these numbers. The US is also a very important tourism market for Sri Lanka and the proposed new tourism campaign must focus on the US market in a big way. The anticipated entry of Asian Low Cast Carriers to the US will bring down US-Colombo airfares, making travel easier on the wallet. The US may be half a world away, but people-to-people contact is essential to enhance bilateral ties.

The Government has initiated a three-year programme that will indeed lay the foundation for the country to become the next Asian Tiger. This is a process that will go hand in hand with moves for lasting peace and reconciliation. The US and other friends of Sri Lanka should be close allies in this drive towards prosperity.