Friday 26 / April / 2024
Message by A.L. Sabarullah Khan, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Sultanate of Oman to mark the 75th Independence Day of Sri Lanka
"It is with immense pleasure, I extend my sincere greetings to all members of the Sri Lankan expatriate community in the Sultanate of Oman as well as all the Sri Lankan nationals, both in Sri Lanka and abroad, on the happy occasion of the 75th Independence Day of Sri Lanka.
At the outset, I pay my respects to all the leaders from the Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim, Burgher and other sections of the population who made immense sacrifices to win our independence 75 years ago. Similarly, I also pay my respects to those who sacrificed their lives and limbs to protect our nation’s independence and sovereignty over the past several decades.
Sri Lanka and Oman enjoy a cordial relationship at all levels, cemented by long standing historical relations that paved the way for more formal diplomatic relations 42 years ago. I thank His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, government and people of Oman for upholding our bilateral relations at high esteem. For a long time, many Sri Lankans have made the Sultanate their home away from home, and even a few are getting naturalised.
Sri Lanka and Oman can complement each other in several areas of cooperation. Both the nations being abundantly blessed by Mother Nature, yet in contrasting ways, have much to explore such areas of cooperation in which one could complement the other. My predecessor has rightly mentioned in his recent book on Sri Lanka – Oman Relations that the current level of bilateral economic cooperation between the two countries does not reflect the true potential of the opportunities available in both the countries. Today, it is of paramount importance to explore such opportunities and augment the numbers in every sector.
Since my arrival in Oman mid-September last year, I was lucky enough to present my credentials to His Majesty within just a month’s time so that I could be fully functional working towards the filling of gaps. Besides the audience with His Majesty, I had exclusive interactions with Their Excellencies the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Labour, Health, Finance, Heritage & Tourism, Higher Education, Social Development, Energy and Internal Affairs of Oman as well as Their Excellencies Chairman of Shura Council, Undersecretary for Diplomatic Affairs, Under Secretary for Agriculture and the Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry, focusing on strengthening of bilateral cooperation. Several bilateral Agreements and MOUs in multiple areas of cooperation including in the fields of Tourism, Agriculture, Skill Development and Mutual Recognition of Qualifications, Promotion and Reciprocal Protection of Investments, Financial Sector are under negotiation and finalisation.
The Embassy facilitated a first ever visit of a 17- member Omani business delegation to Sri Lanka from Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry in March last year. The purpose of the visit was to explore opportunities available in trade and investment between Sri Lanka and Oman and to establish business links between the private sectors of the two countries. The delegation, besides several B2B meetings and site visits, also had discussions with the Honourable Prime Minister, Finance Minister, Trade Minister, Labour Minister, State Minister of Foreign Employment Promotion and Market Diversification, Hon. State Minister of Regional Cooperation and Governor of the Central Bank.
In January last year the delegation of the National Chamber of Exporters of Sri Lanka undertook a visit to Oman and had several meetings with the Omani business fraternity including the Chairman of the Oman Chamber of Commerce & Industry, officials of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and investment Promotion and successfully promoted the exhibition of Sri Lanka Export Brands.
The delegation led by Hon. Bandula Gunawardhana, then Trade Minister of Sri Lanka visited Oman in March 2022. They met with His Excellency the then Minister of Energy and Minerals of Oman and handed over a letter addressed to His Majesty the Sultan of Oman from Hon. Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka and Oman also took stern action against human traffickers who tend to abuse tourist visas for the illegal practice of cheating innocents. The Embassy, with the help of Sri Lankan and Omani authorities as well as philanthropists, repatriated several hundreds of stranded workers last year. In continuation of addressing this matter and to increase bilateral cooperation in the field of legal migration, the Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment is scheduled to visit Oman in the coming weeks.
Last year had been rather challenging to Sri Lanka as political and socio-economic stabilities underwent unprecedented acid tests. Although many countries worldwide were still recovering from the unpredicted economic shock caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic, Sri Lanka was unfortunate to face multiple challenges. Since the year 2019, Sri Lanka has had to face disturbances to its tourism and export industries as well as declining investments and remittances due to terrorism, COVID-19 and Ukraine situation. For an economy which depends on tourism, exports and remittances for much needed foreign exchanges to import essentials including petroleum and medicine, such prolonged disruptions were very acute to face.
However, as a country with an uninterrupted democratic process beginning even from before independence, as a country with a high literacy rate and as a country which successfully eliminated separatist terrorism, Sri Lanka has shown social maturity by rapidly calming down and settling for parliamentary political stability which in time moves towards economic stability, slowly but steadily. At this testing time, I humbly call upon all my fellow Sri Lankans to act responsibly and collectively work towards the economic stability of our motherland.
The commemoration of Independence Day is an important event that unites people under one flag. This year being 75th Anniversary, the Sri Lankan Embassy in Muscat has planned a year-long celebration, beginning in February 2023 and through to January 2024. The celebration commences with the flag hoisting ceremony at the Embassy premises on 4th of February 2023. It will be followed by ‘The 75th Independence Day Cricket Tournament’, which will take place on 28th April at the Amerat Cricket Grounds, in Muscat. Trade shows, food festivals, tea promotion and cultural shows will be arranged in the coming months.
Let’s jointly travel towards a bright and prosperous future and be partners in progress."
- A.L. Sabarullah Khan, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Sultanate of Oman to mark the 75th Independence Day of Sri Lanka
