US Secretary of State John Kerry headed for talks with Sri Lanka’s new President Maithripala Sirisena Saturday on a visit that caps the island’s transformation from diplomatic pariah to a “beacon of democracy”.
The top American diplomat arrived early Saturday local time in Colombo and met with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera. He then met President Maithripala Sirisena, and was to speak later with the prime minister and leading officials from the nation’s Tamil minority.
He entered the Foreign Ministry under a welcome sign bearing his image and was greeted by musicians playing horns and drums and dancers in silver breastplates as he proceeded down a long crimson rug.
“In this journey to restore your democracy, the American people stand with you,” Kerry declared. “We intend to broaden and deepen our partnership with you,” he added, saying the two countries would start an annual partnership dialogue and that US officials from the Treasury and Commerce departments would provide technical assistance to Sri Lanka’s government.
Kerry’s trip, Samaraweera said, “signifies our little island nation’s return to the center stage of international affairs,” vowing that Sri Lanka would become a “full-fledged parliamentary democracy” and an “investor’s paradise.”
Kerry’s one-day visit will enable the top US diplomat to give the seal of approval to the change of regime after Sirisena ousted the hard-line incumbent Mahinda Rajapakse in January’s presidential polls.
During Rajapakse’s rule, Washington was close to slapping sanctions on Colombo for refusing to allow investigations into claims of mass killings and rights abuses at the end of Sri Lanka’s Tamil separatist war.
As Sri Lanka’s relations with the West and regional powerhouse India declined, Rajapakse turned increasingly to Beijing with Chinese-funded investments projects springing up across Sri Lanka.
Since coming to power, Sirisena has tried to reset the diplomatic balance, choosing New Delhi for his first foreign visit and offering the hand of friendship to other key players who fell out with his predecessor.
