Colombo: President Ranil Wickremesinghe emphasized the significance of the Tamil diaspora's involvement in the development of the conflict-torn northern region and stated his commitment to devolution of power within a unitary state as a solution to Sri Lanka's ethnic issue.
President Wickremesinghe also expressed hope that India will help to develop the eastern port of Trincomalee when speaking to state officials in Jaffna. The government, according to him, wants to boost travel between Trincomalee and Mannar. "I think the country's economic development programme should run concurrently with a big development in the northern province. The war caused the whole collapse of Jaffna's economy, he claimed, adding that 14 years after the war's end, the progress that has been made is insufficient.
Wickremesinghe expressed delight for the involvement of the Tamil diaspora in the development of the northern region, where at least 40,000 Tamil civilians may have died in the civil war's last months, according to a UN report.