RW tells Arab ambassadors

President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Thursday (Jan. 11) told Arab ambassadors accredited to Colombo that with regard to any SLN deployment to the Red Sea that Sri Lanka did not have the capacity to send a ship by itself.

“The navy said if they were to go, they would like to go with some cover. However, we do not want any Israeli participation in this freedom of navigation operation. We will support whatever measures are taken by the Arab world to mitigate the problems in the Middle East.”

The government’s decision to send a Navy ship to the Red Sea, where ships affiliated with Israel have come under attack by Yemen’s Houthi faction, has raised concerns.

Container terminals at Sri Lanka’s Colombo have seen daily volumes surge as much as 80 percent, a top official said, as the port stepped in as the transshipment hub for Middle Eastern destinatios by-passed by vessels over Houthi attacks.

He stressed Sri Lanka wants to see an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and will send aid to Gaza once the hostilities end

“We are ready to build one school in Gaza. A Palestinian state must be recognized immediately,” he said stressing that Sri Lanka’s stance on Palestine and the current conflict is very clear.

Wickremesinghe said one country cannot wipe out another nation. “Based on an attack by Hamas, Israel can’t wipe out an entire society that lives in Gaza, which is now close to being obliterated,” he said adding Sri Lanka’s foreign policy now is to maintain closer relations with Arab countries.

“Soon, we will open an embassy in Kazakhstan to replace the one we had in Kabul. With this, we can reach out to Central Asian nations,” he said.

The government’s decision to send a Navy ship to the Red Sea, where ships affiliated with Israel have come under attack by Yemen’s Houthi faction, has raised some concerns.

Meanwhile container terminals at Colombo have seen daily volumes surge as much as 80 percent, a top official said, as the port stepped in as the transshipment hub for Middle Eastern destinations by-passed by vessels over Houthi attacks.