Sri Lanka asks Tamil diaspora to invest in Jaffna
July 14th, 2011 - 7:42 pm ICT by IANSColombo, July 14 (IANS) Sri Lanka has asked the Tamil diaspora to start investing in the northern region to uplift the living conditions of their community, a minister said Thursday.
“If the Tamil diaspora is serious in helping the Tamil community, now is the time to do so,” Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa said in the northern town of Jaffna.
Rajapaksa said the government was in the process of providing the infrastructure that was devastated by the three-decade-long conflict with the Tamil Tigers, Xinhua reported.
The Tamil diaspora - estimated to be over a million people who live in Western nations - fled Sri Lanka when the clashes began in the island in July 1983.
Since the government crushed the insurgency in May 2009, the government has been making an effort to woo the diaspora to engage positively with the government.
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- Colombo, Tamil diaspora flayed in UN report - Apr 27, 2011
- Colombo to fight poverty with military's help - Dec 22, 2011
- Sri Lanka, Singapore sign trade agreement - Feb 16, 2012
- Krishna goes to Sri Lanka minus the war's shadow - Nov 21, 2010
- Indian consulate opens in Jaffna - Nov 27, 2010
- Sri Lanka welcomes foreign aid - May 19, 2012
- Mathai raises issue of Tamil fishermen with Sri Lanka - Oct 10, 2011
- Krishna to push for political settlement of Tamil issue (Lead) - Jan 16, 2012
- Sri Lankan Tamil party accuses army of attacking its election meeting - Jun 18, 2011
- India to finance major harbour in Sri Lanka (Lead) - May 08, 2011
- Jayalalithaa hailed for raising plight of Sri Lankan Tamils - Jun 09, 2011
Tags: basil rajapaksa, clashes, colombo, conflict, decade, development minister, diaspora, economic development, infrastructure, insurgency, july 14, sri lanka, tamil community, tamil tigers, uplift, xinhua