Japan and Sri Lanka to further strengthen bilateral ties: Envoy Sanjiv Gunasekara

• 5,000 job opportunities per year for Sri Lankan youth in Japan
• Marubeni planning to invest in construction of a wind power plant in Manna
• Great scope for more Japanese investments in Sri Lanka
• More Japanese tourists will help revive pandemic-hit industry faster

Several recent initiatives have enhanced Sri Lanka-Japan bilateral ties which have potential to further strengthen for mutual benefit, according to Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Tokyo Sanjiv Gunasekara.

Sri Lankan Ambassador in Japan Sanjiv Gunasekara

It has been more than 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Japan. But according to history, relations between the two countries started in 1893. History states that the pioneers of the Buddhist renaissance in Sri Lanka, Anagarika Dharmapala and the American Sir Henry Steel Olcott introduced Theravada Buddhism to Japan.

“But the Sri Lanka-Japan friendship was further strengthened after World War II, at the 1951 peace conference in San Francisco, due to the historic speech made by the Minister of Finance J.R. Jayewardene in support of Japan. Japan remembers this history well. Therefore, Japan has sincerely extended its hand of friendship to Sri Lanka whenever possible. Sri Lankans also think of Japan in a very friendly way,” recalls Gunasekara who was in Colombo on an official visit recently.

Since his appointment as the Ambassador to Japan by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Gunasekara has endeavoured to strengthen the Sri Lankan economy by developing Japanese tourism and introducing Japanese large-scale entrepreneurs to Sri Lanka and providing them with investment opportunities in Sri Lanka.

Gunasekara said that with the pandemic situation in India last April, Sri Lanka faced challenges in sourcing the second dose of AstraZeneca. “On the instructions of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, I consulted with the Prime Minister of Japan to obtain 14.5 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine,” recalled the Lankan Ambassador adding, “The Government of Japan’s efforts to provide the vaccine to Sri Lanka free of charge are highly commendable.”

He said at present, Japan is a very good partner for Sri Lanka in terms of developing the Sri Lankan economy. “I believe that it is advantageous for Japan to link Sri Lanka’s economic development,” he added.

Gunasekara revealed that the 100-year-old ‘Marubeni’ Company of Japan is planning to invest in the construction of a wind power plant in Mannar. “The concept of utilising renewable energy sources is very close to the Japanese economy. Therefore, Japan is assisting us to develop renewable energy sources,” he added.

Noting that Sri Lankan education is second only to Japan and both countries boast of high literacy rate, Ambassador Gunasekara emphasised investing in Sri Lanka would be extremely beneficial to Japan.

“I am in discussions with several other large-scale companies. I hope that these companies will come forward to invest in Sri Lanka in the future as we strive to bring those investments to Sri Lanka as soon as possible,” he added.

He said that Sri Lanka is a trusted and extremely beautiful destination for Japanese tourists. Every effort was made by Japan to uplift the tourism industry in the country. Despite the collapse of the tourism industry with the spread of the coronavirus, the tourism industry in Sri Lanka is seeing resurgence under the new normalisation situation.

In that context, Ambassador Gunasekara expects more Japanese tourists to visit Sri Lanka in the future adding that the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan has prepared a special program for this purpose.

The Embassy regularly conducts awareness programs for the Japanese on Ayurveda, Eco Tourism and Sri Lankan culture. “It is being done under my full supervision as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Japan. I hope that a large number of Japanese tourists will visit Sri Lanka in the near future due to these tourism promotion programs which are being carried out with the direct interference of the Embassy,” Gunasekara added.

Also, in accordance with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s Vision Policy Statement, the Embassy has launched a number of programs to provide employment opportunities to Sri Lankan youth in Japan to relieve unemployment in Sri Lanka.

“Japanese entrepreneurs are also keen to provide more opportunities for Japanese youth to work in Japan. The embassy also holds regular discussions with Japanese entrepreneurs to seek more employment opportunities. There are a number of conditions that must be met in order to obtain Japanese employment opportunities. There is a possibility of obtaining Japanese employment opportunities by fulfilling the relevant qualifications and conditions. Our goal is to send at least 5,000 Sri Lankan youth to Japan each year. I believe we will be able to achieve that goal,” Ambassador Gunasekara revealed.