President's 10-year development strategy to forge ahead - Urban Development Minister

BEIJING: Sri Lanka is now equipped with "A 10 Year Horizon-National Development Strategy" presented by President Mahinda Rajapaksa in November, 2006, aimed at consolidating our post independence achievements and to leapfrog in development as achieved by other nations - particularly those in Asia with whom we have fostered economic and cultural linkages over centuries.

This was stated by Urban and Sacred Area Development Minister Dinesh Gunawardena addressing `The 10th China Beijing International High-tech Expo' on May 25, in Beijing, China.

Speaking on the theme "Innovative Applications for Development" the Minister stated that strategy targets positioning Sri Lanka for providing a wide range of value added international services along with refinements to our already globally integrated export oriented liberal economy.

" Towards this, a further modernized and transformed City of Colombo and hinterlands and other National Growth Poles are selected to be developed as centres of good living and equipped to promote insurance,shipping,intrepid trade and other strategic enterprise taking particular advantage of our country's extensive maritime, petroleum, and gas potential.

In this respect we have tremendous interest in the impact and contribution of the growth and transformations in the coastal cities of China on the country's overall National Development Strategies", he said.

Minister Gunawardene went on to say that we perceive the CHITEC Conference as having a role to `broker knowledge gained through collaborative projects among partners the world over' championing innovations in development to be sustainable." It is a great privilege to address a Forum with an audience comprising of leaders of eminence dedicated to human development - that being in essence the objective of the CHITEC Conference", he added.

China is the cradle of innumerable innovations that have served human development the world over for centuries. Today, under the leadership of President Hu Jintao China is forging ahead in development at such unprecedented scale and pace through innovative strategies - is an inspiration to ponder over, the Minister said.