Rejuvenation of SL-US dialogue initiated by Lankan expatriates; Amb counters US resolution

With the active participation of the new Sri Lanka ambassador to Washington Mahinda Samasasinghe and the United States Congresswoman Susie Lee, a group of Sri Lankan expatriates in the U.S. activated a zoom meeting on December 14 which proved effective toward the rejuvenation of relations between the two nations.

The Sri Lankan expatriates who were conscious of the importance of the two nations establishing a greater understanding of issues initiated this dialogue bringing socio-economic diplomacy as the basis of the discourse among the US-based Sri Lankan diplomatic leader, American lawmakers and expatriate activists whose professionalism in recent times saw the establishment of a Chamber of Commerce on the American soil in this hour-long zoom meeting.

Ambassador Mahinda Samarasinghe cogently explained the misinformation that has gone into the text of the Sri Lankan Resolution now before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to urge US Congresswoman Susie Lee to be cautious if it comes her way for her endorsement. He reminded that despite the progress much had to be achieved, since the end of the separatist war in 2009 Sri Lanka has undertaken progressive steps toward reconciliation and to consolidate harmony among all ethnic communities. He thanked the United States for its assistance in providing 2.7 million vaccines and 17 million dollars to ease the situation created following the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. He reminded that the U.S. had always come forward to assist Sri Lanka at times of need such as in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami disaster.

Ambassador Samarasinghe noted that his task was to bring the two nations closer, and toward that he had already met with State Department officials and lawmakers in the US Congress.

Congresswoman Susie Lee was invited to join the US Congress Sri Lanka-America Caucus to which she sounded favorable. Ambassador Samarasinghe said he would have a further dialogue with Ms. Susie Lee regarding the matter.

In response, U.S. Congresswoman Susie Lee, a friend of many expatriates who attended the zoom meeting, declared the importance of strengthening the bonds between the two nations and said she was prepared to work with the Congress to assist Sri Lanka in whatever manner. She patiently listened to the contributions of the expatriates the importance of the two nations working together.

The zoom meeting was initiated by the president of the newly inaugurated Sri Lanka-America Chamber of Commerce Sanje Sedera who was joined by the Chamber’s president-elect for the Years 2023-2025 Aruna Abeyakoon. Establishing close discourses between the Sri Lankan expatriates and American lawmakers become possible due to the close rapport Mr. Sadera had developed with Members of the Senate and the House over two decades.

The principal administrative official of the California-based Sri Lanka Foundation Kashini Wijegooneratne apprised how the expatriates coordinated with medical personnel in Sri Lanka with the assistance of the American side to provide emergency medical equipment to needy districts in Sri Lanka.

One of the issues that emerged at the December 14 Zoom Meeting was the importance of Sri Lanka and the United States working together to settle the misunderstanding of issues such as human rights and national ethnicity. It was brought to the attention of the zoom meeting that there were longstanding misinterpretations of national issues that need to be corrected to have a stronger bond between the two nations. In fact, Ambassador Samarasinghe at the outset said that the Resolution on Sri Lanka before the House Foreign Affairs Committee was not a balanced one.

Since the arrival of Sri Lanka’s new diplomatic envoy Mahinda Samarassinghe to Washington two weeks ago the Sri Lankan expatriates have been exploring avenues to have a better diplomatic rapport between the two nations. The expatriates who established the Sri Lanka-America Chamber of Commerce on December 9 with the blessings of many American lawmakers – both Senate and House – were targeting the enhancement of trade, commerce and investment cooperation between the two nations. It is with these twin objectives – economic and diplomatic cooperation – that the Sri Lankan expatriates held the Zoom Meeting, one of a series of discourses among expatriates, Sri Lankan diplomats and American lawmakers and policymakers.