IIFA will boost Sri Lankan tourism: Mahinda Rajapaksa
June 4th, 2010 - 7:24 pm ICT by IANSBy Shilpa Raina
Colombo, June 4 (IANS) Sri Lanka is hosting International India Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony and President Mahinda Rajapaksa says the event will spurt tourism in the country that fought a long war against the Tamil Tigers.
“Thank you IIFA for choosing my country as the venue for this extravagant event. It will help us in bridging the gap between the two nations in a simple manner,” Rajapaksa told delegates at the inaugural session of the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum here Friday.
“There is no peace without development and hence as a nation we are trying to provide support to people who have been subjected to various tortures by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and this is one such way of telling the world that we have arrived,” he added.
Rajapaksa also said that the two nations - India and Sri Lanka - have a rich and common cultural heritage and history and that they are trying to strengthen this bond.
“Peace and stability - this is what I want for my country. And I want to tell the world that we have had major economic success in the past four years and we have improved considerably in terms of infrastructure, roads and airports,” he said.
Rajapaksa’s statement has come at a time when the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce stated that southern stars and filmmakers would boycott all Bollywood stars who attend the IIFA event in the Sri Lankan capital.
- Sans big stars, IIFA awards end with fanfare (Review) - Jun 06, 2010
- IPL has changed the definition of cricket: Dia Mirza - Jun 04, 2010
- Sri Lanka welcomes foreign aid - May 19, 2012
- Sri Lanka, Singapore sign trade agreement - Feb 16, 2012
- Sri Lanka at 'critical point' post-LTTE, says politician (Interview) - Nov 15, 2011
- Indian MPs slam Sri Lanka for 'war crimes' (Lead) - Aug 25, 2011
- 'Sri Lanka's ties with China no threat to India' - Dec 29, 2011
- India should help form Tamil Eelam: Ramadoss - Apr 26, 2011
- Free Fonseka, Sri Lankan opposition says (Lead) - May 02, 2012
- Tamils protest Bachchan's proposed Sri Lanka visit - Apr 25, 2010
- India wanted LTTE 'put in its place': Norway report - Nov 11, 2011
- Will get Sri Lankan Tamils their rights: Jayalalithaa - Aug 11, 2011
- Sri Lanka told not to harass media - Jul 04, 2012
- India wishes for settlement of issues between displaced Tamils and Sri Lankan Govt.: Krishna - Aug 25, 2010
- Jayalalithaa's Sri Lanka muddle will have consequences (Comment) - Sep 04, 2012
Tags: bollywood stars, cultural heritage, ficci, film academy, film chamber, global business forum, hosting international, inaugural session, india film, liberation tigers of tamil eelam, liberation tigers of tamil eelam ltte, mahinda rajapaksa, peace and stability, president mahinda rajapaksa, raina, shilpa, south indian film, southern stars, sri lankan capital, tamil tigers