Ladies and gentlemen,
thank you for joining us today.
I am pleased to be here to attend the Conference on the
Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka. As I told the
conference earlier today, the Asian Development Bank will
continue to do whatever it can to support the peace process,
help the people of Sri Lanka recover from the conflict,
and build a new and prosperous Sri Lanka.
ADB is one of Sri Lanka's largest and most important development
partners. We remain firmly committed to the development
of Sri Lanka, and to the well-being of all Sri Lankans.
This commitment is shared by all of our development partners,
as has been most recently demonstrated by the collaborative
efforts of ADB, the World Bank and the United Nations, with
important assistance from our bilateral colleagues, NGOs,
the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE), to prepare a comprehensive needs assessment of the
conflict-affected areas. The needs assessment was presented
at the Conference today and served as a basis for the donors'
pledges of support.
ADB's assistance program for the conflict-affected north
and east of Sri Lanka began in early 2001, even before the
ceasefire. We are helping people there gain access to shelter,
education, health, other basic services and jobs.
Recently, we have been saddened by the terrible loss of
life and destruction of property caused by the floods in
the south of the country. We have offered post-flood rehabilitation
assistance, and we are now working with the Government to
translate this offer into reality on the ground.
In general, our activities are now expanding as the situation
becomes more conducive to development. We will continue
to seek opportunities to improve the lives of all people
in Sri Lanka, and to meet the country's emerging reconstruction
and development needs. It is of central importance that
peace dividends be realized for the entire country, not
just for the conflict-affected areas. These dividends will
be realized through faster and broad-based growth, which
will create more employment and accelerate poverty reduction.
Since last year, I visited Sri Lanka twice, first in March
2002, soon after the ceasefire agreement was signed, and
again in March 2003. I was impressed by the government's
recognition of the difficult situation facing the country,
and by its strong commitment to peace and reform.
There are many difficult development challenges in the south.
In the north and east, physical and social infrastructure
have been devastated. But I was encouraged by the positive
changes that occurred between my two visits-changes made
possible by the ceasefire agreement. Some peace dividends
are already clear, particularly the positive impact on the
people's attitude. But the people are looking forward to
more tangible benefits and visible signs of progress.
ADB is committed to providing assistance to Sri Lanka that
builds upon and supports the peace process and helps to
meet the peoples' expectations. We are now formulating our
new country strategy in close consultation with the Government,
our development partners and other stakeholders. The strategy
will guide our operations in the coming years. It will accelerate
support for the peace process and maximize peace dividends
for the entire country.
The resources required for reconstruction and development
are enormous. It is possible that ADB's assistance to Sri
Lanka could total up to $1 billion over the next four years,
a substantial increase over past support. The magnitude
and timing of our assistance will, of course, depend very
much on resumption of the peace talks and progress toward
a formal end to the conflict. These steps are critical to
creating the necessary environment for reconstruction and
sustainable development of Sri Lanka.
Thank you.
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