[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 22276]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 22276]]

                        U.S.-SRI LANKA RELATIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cooksey). Under a previous order of
the House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized 
for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I wanted to take this opportunity to talk 
about the growing relations between the United States and Sri Lanka, 
relations that I hope will be getting more attention in the near 
future.
  In particular, I wanted to mention the upcoming visits of two 
distinguished Sri Lankan officials to Washington, D.C., next week.
  At the beginning of this year, I formed a new bipartisan 
congressional caucus on Sri Lanka in an effort to promote increased 
dialogue between our two countries and to be a voice in Congress for 
the approximately 100,000 Americans of Sri Lankan descent.
  Formerly known as Ceylon, Sri Lanka is an independent island-nation. 
Its territory comprises one of the largest islands in the Indian Ocean, 
about the size of West Virginia, lying approximately 20 miles southeast 
of the southernmost tip of India.
  This South Asian nation of about 18 million people, a democracy where 
both the president and the prime minister are women, continues to work 
to strengthen its relations both with other developing nations and with 
major industrial powers like the United States.
  To that end, the president of Sri Lanka, Mrs. Kumaratunga, will be in 
the United States within the next few days, September 24 to 28, to 
attend an annual International Monetary Fund/World Bank meeting in her 
capacity as the chairwoman of the Group of 24 of the IMF.
  On Sunday, September 26, the President will host a reception here in 
Washington. The Group of 24 comprises a cross-section of countries in 
Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Group of 24 seeks to address 
economic growth-related issues in the developing countries and to 
strengthen their financial and monetary situation.
  Mr. Speaker, while I welcome the president coming to Washington for 
these important international meetings, I would like to see Sri Lanka's 
Head of State return to our Nation's capital for a State visit.
  Earlier this year I wrote to President Clinton asking that he 
formally invite the president. The last presidential visit from Sri 
Lanka to the U.S. was in 1984. President Clinton did respond to my 
letter, although he did not commit to extending such an invitation. 
However, as South Asia continues to assume a growing importance in U.S. 
foreign policy considerations, I hope and I will continue to push for a 
State visit.
  Mr. Speaker, next week Sri Lanka's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. 
Kadirgamar, will be making an official visit to Washington. Our Sri 
Lankan Caucus will be setting up a briefing with our Members and our 
staff with the Foreign Minister tentatively scheduled for next 
Thursday. I look forward to a productive meeting that will expand the 
dialogue between our two nations.
  Mr. Speaker, bilateral U.S.-Sri Lanka relations have always been 
strong since Sri Lanka won its independence from British colonial rule 
in 1948. In addition to our growing trade relations, the U.S. and Sri 
Lanka have a shared stake in promoting security, stability, and 
democracy in South Asia. Sri Lanka continues to work to promote 
tolerance among the various religious and ethnic communities that make 
up its population. It is a country that shares many of our values, and 
we have many common interests that must continue to be pursued.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope next week's visit by Sri Lanka's president and 
foreign minister will contribute to this process of closer relations 
with the United States, and I urge my colleagues from both sides of the 
aisle to join me in continuing to work for closer ties between our two 
countries.

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