Emergency ambulance service launched in Western, Southern Province

During his visit to Sri Lanka in March 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received a request to assist in the establishment of an emergency ambulance service in Sri Lanka. After the visit, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe wrote to his counterpart seeking support for the creation of the emergency ambulance service and help with its first year of operations. 

Modi, taking personal interest in the matter, assured his full support for the initiative. The commitment of the Indian Government was formalised through a Letter of Exchange ceremony which took place in September 2015 during the visit of Wickremesinghe to India.  The project would cover the Western and Southern Province of Sri Lanka. 

The project was launched at a widely attended event on Thursday at Galle Face Green in Colombo. A video message from Modi was screened at the occasion, which was graced by PM Wickremesinghe, Minister of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine Rajitha Senaratne, High Commissioner of India Y.K. Sinha and Deputy Foreign Minister Harsha de Silva among others.  

The project is being implemented through a financial grant of around $ 7.55 million from the Indian Government. The project’s elements include an emergency response centre, the deployment of 88 ambulances in the Southern and Western provinces and the recruitment and training of nearly 600 Sri Lankan personnel to implement the project. 

Only four to six staff members are to be deployed from India to provide management and technical guidance. The Sri Lankan Government has selected GVK EMRI as the implementing agency.  A non-profit company called GVK EMRI Lanka Ltd. has been created for rolling out the services in the Western and Southern Province. All assets, including ambulances, will belong to the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine of Sri Lanka. The emergency ambulance services will be provided free of cost to the beneficiary.  

This project is another milestone in the wide-raging development partnership between India and Sri Lanka. India’s development portfolio in Sri Lanka is nearly $ 2.6 billion, of which $ 436 million consists entirely of financial grants.

The following is the message delivered by the Indian Prime Minister at the launch of the emergency ambulance service on Thursday.

His Excellency Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, my Sri Lankan friends, Namaskaram!

On this occasion of the launch of the emergency ambulance service in Sri Lanka, it is a matter of great pleasure that I and 1.25 billion Indians can use technology to again speak with our friends in Sri Lanka. Only last month I had the honour of dedicating the renovated Duraiappah Stadium to the people of Sri Lanka together with President Sirisena.

If yesterday it was in Northern Sri Lanka that we dedicated the fruits of our partnership, then today the inauguration of this joint project will carry forward our cooperation in the Southern and Western provinces of Sri Lanka.

I must commend His Excellency Wickremesinghe for his leadership in the success of the launch of this ambulance service.  It represents a concrete result of how our close partnership benefits the people on the ground. It is another example of how Indian experiences, capacities and best practices can fulfill the needs of our friends in Sri Lanka.

Dear friends, this project is important as it will help save lives. This ambulance service would add to your capacities for delivering emergency healthcare. And the goals of this project are ambitious. It will reach out to over 8 million residents of Southern and Western Sri Lanka. I am told it will also be a source of substantial job creation in local communities. The project also showcases the success of a public-private partnership between the Government of Sri Lanka and its nominated implementing partner.

Dear friends, the threads of strong civilisational linkages have united the people of our two countries. Today the partnership between India’s capacities and your needs is not only touching the lives of our people, it also shows our path of constructive regional cooperation. India’s development cooperation with Sri Lanka enjoys a wide spread of projects throughout Sri Lanka in different areas of economic activities. But it must happen as per your aspirations. It is for this reason that our cooperative projects rely on the choices and priorities set by the people, the leadership and the Government of Sri Lanka.

Friends, in concluding, let me repeat what I’ve said earlier too: that India stands for a united, stable and prosperous Sri Lanka. That is also the goal of our partnership. And the emergency ambulance service is a unique example of this friendship.

I congratulate President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on the success of this project.

I also offer the people of Sri Lanka my best wishes and strong support in their march towards economic prosperity.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

 Pix by Gitika Talukdar