President Mahinda Rajapaksa said that Indian investor interest in Sri Lanka is rapidly growing, and that several leading Indian entrepreneurs in industry and other sectors have expressed interest in setting up business in Sri Lanka.

President Rajapaksa said this when Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao called on him at the Temple Trees this evening (September 01).

During the 45-minute discussion, Ms Rao expressed satisfaction at the progress in resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and development activities of the North. She had visited Jaffna, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya and other places in the North, as well as the East, and had seen that conditions were quite satisfactory. She assured the President that India would expedite the projects undertaken by her country, including the housing project for IDPs and reconstruction of the railway line in the North.

President Rajapaksa said that IDPs and other persons of the area should be involved in these projects, especially the housing projects, so that they would have a sense of ownership in them. Both President Rajapaksa and the Indian Foreign Secretary re-affirmed the strong bonds of friendship and neighbourly ties between the two countries.

Ms Rao conveyed Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh's good wishes to the President.

Minister of External Affairs Prof G L Peiris, Secretary to the President, Lalith Weeratunga, Treasury Secretary Dr P B Jayasundara, Sri Lanka High Commissioner in New Delhi, Prasad Kariyawasam, Indian High Commissioner Ashok Kanta, Joint Secretary Moorthi, and Deputy High Commissioner Vickram also participated in the discussions.