The Sri Lankan president has called on Tamil diaspora to assist in rebuilding the once war-torn areas of the north and east through investment, a statement from his office said here on Wednesday.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa called on the large Tamil diaspora to aid in the rebuilding efforts of their motherland by investing in the north and east regions of the country that suffered the most during a brutal three-decade war.
Since the conflict ended in 2009, the government has invested over 6 billion U.S. dollars in large infrastructure projects with the latest addition being a grid of highways.
After the opening of Sri Lanka's first highway on Sunday, Rajapaksa inaugurated the work on another expressway linking the north with capital Colombo.
"We have launched several programs to develop the north and help our people. There is a need to provide entertainment for the north with more facilities for sports and recreation in addition to building more hotels. Both the private sector and diaspora could play an active role in the north," he was quoted as saying in the statement.
The Sri Lankan government and Tamil diaspora have been largely estranged over accusations of war crimes during the last phase of the war.
The government has accused some diaspora members of supporting the remnants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam that it defeated but is still named as a terrorist organization.
Xinhua
