When Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena visited China in August last year, the key discussions he made there was for the sole purpose of developing rural livelihoods in Sri Lanka. As he always recalls the economic crisis our country had faced, with empathy towards the middle and low class communities who had to go through a very difficult few years for the first time in their lives, one of his main ambitions remained on the above focus, of helping villagers.
As a devout Buddhist, his interests was on the Yunnan Province as it is one of the few places in China where Theravada Buddhism exists, apart from its economic importance, as the province has developed a Temple based Social Empowerment System (TSES), which can be emulated in countries such as Sri Lanka to Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, just as in the ancient times, practised in all Buddhist nations where archaeological evidence proves that agriculture, art, architecture, knowledge and sanitation had thrived with the influence of Buddhism.
Historically, the Southwestern Silk Road to Bangladesh passed through the modern Yunnan Province.
Assistance from Yunan
Gifting egg incubators to support poultry farmers
With the Prime Minister’s request to the Yunnan Governor to consider assisting Sri Lanka in economic empowerment by promoting entrepreneurship, microfinance initiatives, and livelihood development programs, the Government of Yunan agreed to help the Sri Lankan community by gifting egg incubators to support poultry farmers, a large number of durable fish nets for fisherman, and to help with smart classrooms for hundreds of schools.
On every occasion the egg incubators were gifted to selected poultry farmers in every Divisional Secretariat, the Prime Minister repeated the point that these incubators were meant to help gain a certain additional income for these families as well as the extended positive outcome that comes from it by providing a nutritious egg for each child in those families on a daily basis, as well as eggs being available to their neighbourhood families at a lower cost than before.
It may look and sound like a small change, yet, in the long run, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena believes it will have a greater benefit of uplifting the quality of life in rural areas in Sri Lanka just as at the time of his late father Philip Gunawardena, when he was the Minister of Agriculture and Food, such poultry faming was encouraged and thrived. It was in 1957 at Hanwella Gamsabha office that the first incubating machine was installed to help the local poultry businesses. This creates a self- sufficient home garden and rural entrepreneurs, while encouraging all the other families around them to grow things in their own gardens, raise chicken, goats and cows and to come closer to the nature again like in the old days when almost all families lived on the food they grew on their lands. Subsistence agriculture is the best solution when a country has faced a sudden economic crisis and still facing various economic challenges.
Fisheries sector
As a continuing result, when he returned to Sri Lanka, a group of Chinese Industrialists called on the Prime Minister and expressed their interest to invest in the fisheries sector where he encouraged them pointing out the vast potential for investment in fish processing and export in here, not only to China, also to foreign markets including Europe and North America. Sri Lankans are always grateful to its friend China, as it has always firmly supported Sri Lanka in safeguarding its sovereign independence and national dignity, and was always willing to strengthen exchanges of experience in governance as well as cooperation in various fields with Sri Lanka, especially to address the challenges of financial debts.
When he was the Guest of Honour at the 7th China-South Asia Expo in Kunming, Yunnan province, a notable statement the Prime Minister made during his speech was about true friendship, saying, “I wish to emphasize that in Buddhism the importance of cultivating Kalyana Mitras is taught. Kalyana Mitra is the best of friendships that sees through times of good and through times of difficulty.
Sri Lanka sees the friendship cultivated with China to be one of the true best Kalayana Mitras, amidst times of good and difficulty, China always stood by Sri Lanka,”emphasizing how China firmly supported Sri Lanka through its most difficult time of war, at UN Assemblies when agendas were brought in against the sovereign Governments of Sri Lanka as well as the most recent first time ever economic downfall.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena stays committed to improving the lives of people, via rural developments.
