President wants power rivalries out of Asian region

President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasised yesterday that Sri Lanka will not support any work that hinders the unity of Asia.The President made the pledge while participating in the ceremony to mark the 50th Anniversary of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo, which is the first international conference hall built in Asia.

The President said that there are many differences between the geopolitics and the politics of the Pacific and Indian Ocean region and that everyone should recognise those differences and work to preserve peace and stability.ASEAN plays an important role in maintaining this stability and ASEAN must be further strengthened in the coming decades, he said.

“The ASEAN outlook is one which also emphasises the fact that while the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean are two different, distinct oceans, they are interconnected now. The geopolitics of the Indian Ocean is quite different from the Asia Pacific. As far as we are concerned, we have been free of the great power rivalry so far. We should not allow that to come into the Indian Ocean,” the President said.

President Wickremesinghe stressed that in order to advance Sri Lanka as a country with a strong economy in the next decades, Sri Lanka can be taken forward by utilizing the non-aligned policy, the ‘Panchaseela’ and the Asian policy.

“Those general facts are still valid today and said that this Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall is a good example that can be pointed out regarding the unity of Asia,” he said,

A Coffee Table Book written on the history of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall was also presented to the President while a commemorative stamp worth Rs.25 was also issued to mark the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe also said: “It should be remembered here that only the countries of the Indian Ocean have not experienced disharmony in the world power struggle. With the ambition of becoming world powers, some groups have undermined the unity between the countries of the Pacific Ocean and dragged them into a state of war. We must work together to prevent this from happening to the Indian Ocean. I also emphasize that Sri Lanka will not support in any way, to break the unity of Asia. Already we have a number of military bases around the horn of Africa. They came in when piracy was at its height. And as far as Sri Lanka is concerned, we are of the view that they should work with the African Union, which is responsible for the regional security of the African continent.”