Sri Lanka to introduce an export strategy soon, says Minister Samarawickrema

By Bandula Sirimanna

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A section of the audience at the awards ceremony. Pic by M. D. Nissanka

Sri Lanka is set to introduce an export strategy to provide a coherent framework in the area of export promotion and create an export friendly environment in the island. The Export Development Board (EDB) is in the process of devising this strategy on the directions of the Ministry of Strategic Development and International Trade, said its Minister Malik Samarawickrema at the 21st Presidential Export Awards ceremony in Colombo on Wednesday.

One-stop shops in the Board of Investment (BOI) and the Central Clearance Unit in the Customs would be fully operational by the end of this month, he said adding that all laws and regulations are being reviewed to speed up processes and procedures. The system of tariffs and para-tariffs is to be made more export-friendly giving priority to fiscal consolidation, he revealed.He noted that the country has very little scope to continue borrowing as it has done in recent years. ‘We have to earn rather than borrow, the foreign exchange we need to pay for the imports, we require as well as to service the foreign debt we have incurred,” he said adding that every year for almost 30 years Sri Lanka has borrowed to meet its current expenses.

He expressed the confidence that Sri Lanka would be able to achieve strong macro-economic fundamentals, improve investment climate and boost trade facilitation and exporters will rise to the challenge.Sri Lanka needs to have its presence in regional and global value chains significantly as the modern world is characterised by production-sharing networks. However he noted that the country should improve export performance which is disappointing at present.In his speech, President Maithripala Sirisena stressed the need for the joint efforts of both the public and the private sectors in the country’s economic development.

Sri Lanka’s private sector should pay special attention on the manufacture of new innovative products needed for the present commercial world while continuing the traditional export industry. The President further said that the government is ready to provide its fullest support in this regard.He said the government will take every possible step to promote the export industry which is the foundation of the national economy.
Measures will be taken to strengthen the export firms and provide the necessary guidance and technical knowhow to them while broadening the strategic economic development methods, he added.

He presented awards to 24 institutions which excelled in export business, particularly in non-traditional products and services and rendered a great service to the export industry of the country. The Brandix Group received the most number of awards. Brandix’s CEO Ashraf Omar revealed that Sri Lanka’s remote and backward areas have much needed potential and resources including land, infrastructure and human strength for investors to launch business enterprises.Those remote areas are suitable to set up industrial ventures with local or foreign collaboration due to availability of workers, land allotments, and other facilities, he pointed out. Comparing export performances of countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Finland, Sri Lanka has to expedite its efforts to increase export value and volume, he said, adding that the island nation should achieve the target of US$25 billion in the next five years from the present value of $11 billion.

Tourism potential in Ella

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Tourists in Ella

Around 2001 when I visited Ella it was a sleepy village in the Badulla District best known as a convenient way stop for a few travellers on the way to Kataragama and beyond. Ella is about 14km northeast of Bandarawela that has been better known as a holiday town.
When I visited Ella earlier this month after a lapse of almost 14 years I found an Ella that has been transformed into a bustling tourist town, a kind of mini Hikkaduwa. It is a classic market-driven development that, on balance, appears to have been good for almost all concerned. The local business community as well as some who have moved in from outside have invested in restaurants, guesthouses, spas, beauty parlours and other tourism related businesses. Tourism is providing jobs to many.

The railway is doing well in transporting tourists. The Ella Pradesheeya Sabha should be earning more tax revenue. The country is earning foreign exchange.The foreign tourists, mostly in the younger age group who are interested in mountaineering, trekking, rock climbing and other outdoor pursuits, have found Ella an attractive destination. It is by and large a win-win situation for all concerned.

Scope for Improvement
The purpose of writing this letter is to point out some development work that official agencies ranging from the Central Government (Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, Sri Lanka Railways , Road Development Authority et al), Uva Provincial Council, and Ella Pradesheeya Sabha could do in cooperation with the local business community, civil society and others to further boost the Ella tourist industry. It should be a well-coordinated effort. The plan of action should be based on hard data.

Some information already exists. For example, the Railway has data on passengers. The Uva PC and the Pradesheeya Sabha will have a data on businesses and taxes. I found in a few seconds from the Internet that “Booking.com” has listed 129 places in Ella where visitors could stay.
Assuming an average capacity of five double rooms per facility Ella is currently able to accommodate about 1,000 visitors per night. Data gaps for a sound development plan could be filled with the assistance of Uva University that can be provided some resources to conduct a survey of tourism, environment and other tourism/development issues in Ella.

Devolution is more meaningful to local communities when they are involved in local development. Ella Tourism development can be institutionalised with a body that could be established with the participation of all the main stakeholders including the local trade chamber known as the Ella Tourism and Trade Development Association (ETTDA).

Water Supply
A very positive recent development is the construction of a major water supply facility for Ella, Haliela and Badulla. The US Exim Bank has given a 12-year loan of $64.9 million (Rs. 8.5 billion) for the facility. A massive storage tank is under construction close to the Ella town to supply water to the area.

Priority needs
As a casual observer I noticed a few things that official agencies could do to improve Ella as a tourist destination. The main road (A23) that runs through the town is under repair/rehabilitation. The RDA should finish the job as soon as possible. The byroads and lanes in the town need repair. The approach road to the railway station must be widened and the vehicle park at the station should be improved. The storm water drainage and the sewerage system in the town also need attention. Adequate street lighting on the main road and byroads are a must, especially to make the visitors feel safer. The main passenger trains that serve Ella are the Colombo/Kandy-Badulla trains.

The local passenger trains are a few poorly maintained carriages attached to freight trains. One such train I took from Iddalgashinna to Ella that runs along a breath-taking scenic 34 km section of the rail line was late by almost two hours and was also overcrowded with about half locals and half tourists. The CGR should consider the viability of having a modern railcar running on a regular timetable to serve both locals and visitors.

Solid waste disposal
One of the most pressing issues that must be addressed is solid waste disposal. There is a so called garbage “recycling” centre maintained by the Ella PS less than half a km from the town. The facility poses a serious public health and environmental hazard, and threatens to undermine the tourist industry. First, it lacks the capacity to deal with the increasing volume of garbage that the town produces. Second, Ella residents say that there are days when the smell that emanates from the facility becomes unbearable in the whole area and the smoke that rises from burning garbage pollutes the entire town. The local trade chamber ETTDA and the people of Ella have been agitating since 2010 to persuade the Ella PS and higher authorities to relocate the garbage disposal facility but to no avail.

Development model
The new government talks a lot about development. Ella offers a practical opportunity to do development with a modest amount of financial resources combined with creativity and poltical will. It can serve as a useful model for similar development efforts elsewhere.
Local traveller

Uproar in packaging industry over polythene ban

By Quintus Perera

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On the heels of the Government’s proposal to ban asbestos in Sri Lanka, the latest proposal to ban polythene from the country have sent shock waves among some industrialists who are protesting over the issue.J.D.C. Perera, President, Sri Lanka Institute of Packaging, speaking at the launch of Lankapak 2016 – the Premier International Packaging Exhibition in Sri Lanka held in Colombo last week, expressed the concern of the packaging industry people, on the decision of the government to ban polythene.

He said that polythene is an integral part of packaging and they could find no substitute for this material yet and noted that this issue should have to be discussed at length with the industry and relevant institutes representing the plastic manufacturing in this country. He said that all kinds of waste plastics (polythene) could be recyclable and in fact the recycling of plastics has now become a cottage industry and a large number of families live with that income. What is necessary is to streamline the collection of the waste polythene and ensure a ready supply to this cottage industry.

On the sidelines of the launch, Mr. Perera told the Business Times (BT) that around 10 years ago he had suggested to the government to make arrangements for school children to collect these waste plastics and the CWE (Cooperative Wholesale Establishment) to purchase them through its island wide network, so that the students could understand the value of money and the need to protect the environment. He said that they are supporting this polythene recycling cottage industry.Kithsiri Wijesundara, Packaging Consultant, speaking on ‘Packaging in General and Its Relevance to the Sri Lankan Economy’ branded the decision of the government as stupid. He said “I call it stupid, as it is stupid”.

He said that the Sri Lankan Government is now talking of environmental protection and pointed out that there are some stupid rules like banning polythene and things like that. He said “I say it is stupid, because it is stupid. I was returning from Singapore and found the polythene shopping bag is still the same bag. If it is such a dangerous or a bad thing they would have done away with them long time ago”.They looked at various alternatives, he said and they have found this is the most environmentally sustainable bag and if the drainage system gets blocked that is not the fault of the polythene bag. That is the fault of the people, he pointed out.

In Singapore people do not throw the bag and he indicated that the polythene industry in this country should be able to lobby or influence the government to formulate right policies which are actually sustainable and helping the environment – conservation of the environment.
He said that the turning point in the packaging industry happened in 1977 with the liberalisation of the economy and said that the packaging industry in Sri Lanka was reborn. The Government recognised packaging as the lifeline of the development of exports because exports were selected by that government as the engine of growth of the country’s economy.

With the per capita income growing consumption patterns have also changed in the country, he asserted and stated that consumption of consumer items grew very rapidly which contributed to the growth in the packaging industry.Packaging for retailing promotes and enhanced the competition in the market place, he indicated, pointing out that it is a powerful tool to build up competition.Lankapak 2016 Exhibition will be held for three days from 6 to 8 May 2016 at the BMICH. It would showcase the state-of-the-art packaging and it is being held for the 16th consecutive year and it would showcase the latest and most sophisticated products and services used all over the world.

The magical dragon fruit

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Dragon fruit…what a cool name! While to some the name may sound intimidating, to some others it is a beautiful fruit to adorn a pantry counter top and to still others it looks like an egg from a dragon. Whatever it may be, it is considered one of the trendiest fruits to eat despite its improbable appearance.

Pitaya or Pitahaya as it is commonly known is growing in popularity and is the most beautiful member of the Cactaceae family. It is a fruit of the genus Hylocereus that comes in three common types: Hylocereus undatus – pink skinned with white flesh, Hylocereus costaricensis – pink skinned with red flesh and Hylocereus megalanthus – yellow skinned with white flesh. The fruit is native to Central and South America and dates back at least to the 13th century. In Sri Lanka the fruit became popular a little over a decade ago. The fruit is now commercially grown and freely available in most fruit stalls and supermarkets and is also exported.

When you look at a dragon fruit the origin of its name appears obvious.  The fruit which is oval to oblong and up to about four inches has hot pink or yellow skin, consisting of overlaid leaves that look like scales or spines sometimes giving it the appearance of an exotic oriental lantern. The thick succulent skin peels away easily. The inner flesh is white or red with numerous embedded tiny black seeds. Compared to the bright, vibrant skin, the juicy flesh is actually quite mild in flavour. It is slightly sweet with acidic undertones with the texture being a cross between a kiwi and a firm pear.

Dragon fruit is so easy to eat, all you need to do is to cut it open and then spoon out its goodness. Or, you can easily bite it right off of the peel for a quick fix. The flesh holds its shape when cut and is an exotic addition to fruit salads or desserts with other tropical fruits. It can be blended into a refreshing drink or smoothie leaving the seeds intact for a unique appearance. Pureed dragon fruit flesh can also be frozen into sorbets and sherbets. For the sweetest flavour wait until the spines on the skin dry up and the outside is soft.

Nutritional value
If you are looking for a fruit that is filling and will help keep your weight in check, dragon fruit is the perfect choice. Eating the flesh and seeds, which contain good protein, will keep your body fortified and satisfied. 100 g of dragon fruit will give almost 2 g of protein and 9 g of carbohydrates, which is about 3% and 4% of the recommended daily value, respectively. The fruits do not have complex carbohydrates, so they can be easily broken down by the body. They are high in fibre, so regular consumption can help avoid constipation and improve your digestive health. One serving of dragon fruit contains about 10% of your body’s recommended daily amount of vitamin C. The fruit also contains B vitamins such as B1 for better carbohydrate metabolism, B2 for recovery and improvement of appetite, and B3 for reducing bad cholesterol while improving the skin condition.

The fruit is packed with important minerals such as calcium for stronger bones and teeth, phosphorus for tissue formation and iron for healthy blood. It is 80% water and helps in enhancing nutrition and corrects body ailments and can be a vital ingredient in your daily beauty regime. Like other red fruits, the red variety contains lycopene, which helps protect against cancer and heart disease. Dragon fruit also contains phytoalbumins that have been shown to help your body rid itself of heavy metal toxins.

Boosts cardiovascular health
Dragon fruit can help boost your cardiovascular health, as the seeds contain the positive type of fat, which can lead to HDL cholesterol (High Density Lipoprotein – “good” cholesterol). HDL cholesterol actively decreases the amount of LDL cholesterol (Low Density Lipoprotein) by inhibiting the receptors that it binds to on the walls of arteries. Recent research has found the consumption of dragon fruit may lower the risks of developing heart disease and high blood pressure.

Benefits immune system
One of the most beneficial aspects of the fruit is its ability to give a serious boost to your body’s defence system. The high level of vitamin C is one of the strongest assets to your body’s immune system that also stimulates the activity of other antioxidants in the body. They actively seek out and eliminate free radicals, the dangerous byproducts of cell metabolism, which have been directly linked to potentially fatal conditions like cancer and heart disease.

Suppresses arthritis
Dragon fruit’s benefits for those suffering from arthritis are so great that it is commonly referred to as the “anti-inflammatory fruit.” Arthritis directly affects the joints and causes severe irritation and immobility. Adding dragon fruit to your diet can help you fight these ailments.

Stabilises blood sugar levels
The high amount of fibre in the fruit can help stabilise blood sugar levels. It also helps to inhibit the sugar spikes that occur after eating high glycemic index foods. Thus regular consumption of the fruit could be beneficial in preventing common issues linked to diabetes. The flavanoid antioxidants present in red flesh varieties will also help control sugar levels.

Good for skin
Eating dragon fruit with its rich antioxidants can keep the skin tight and young. You can even make a face mask using the fruit combined with honey as a natural alternative to anti-aging masks. Abundant in vitamin B3, dragon fruit can moisturize sunburned skin and release heat from the affected area. So there you are – this odd looking fruit is much more than a simple decoration, it contains some pretty magical benefits.

Caring and sharing online

By Shenali Perera

From selling furniture to changing lives EPFS takes Sri Lankan networking to the next level

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When you are constantly barraged by poverty on all sides, which is often the case in Sri Lanka, it is easy to develop a thick skin. We often find ourselves reluctant to help because you just can’t be sure if you are being swindled, or if your charity will actually help in the right way.

Children of the Manacare Foundation, one of the charities EPFS supports

But even when justified, this cynicism can leave you feeling a little cold, especially at this time of year when most want to embrace the Christmas spirit of giving.

The EPFS community did not start out with the intention of becoming an online hub of goodwill and charity. “It started purely by accident,” says founder Michael Moonasinghe.

In order to help some friends who were soon leaving Sri Lanka dispose of their furniture, Michael set up what he intended to be a temporary Facebook group called the Ex-pat Furniture Services (EPFS), with all proceeds from the sales going to charity.

“Then people started asking, can you sell my furniture too and we realised there was no real way of selling secondhand furniture in the country. So I said sure, but this is a charity site so why not give 10 percent of whatever you make to charity?”

From its chance beginnings in July last year, the group has now expanded to a thriving community of just under 9000 members of whom about 85 percent is made up of locals.

Michael Moonasinghe

“Every day we have around 20 new members joining and they tell five of their family and friends who tell five of theirs and so on. It’s free to join and everyone is welcome,” says Michael. “The group is non-political, non-religious, open to discussions, but respectful of each other.”

All activity on the group is monitored by Michael and his cousin Frances de Niese, who handles most of its online administration.

The EPFS community now provides a platform for anyone advertising or looking for jobs, property, lost and found pets and various queries and their most memorable sales so far include a 40 ft. container and a grave plot in the Borella cemetery!

What differentiates the group from a typical commercial site, however, is its sense of community. “There have been blood donations to people in intensive care – three people got blood donated within one hour of putting the message out,” says Michael.

“We’ve saved animals’ lives too, through blood donors for animals.” EPFS works closely with other welfare groups who use its vast platform to spread the message about an emergency very quickly.

“Social media gets knocked a lot for the bad things on the internet, but I think what we’ve proven here is that you can actually harness people’s good intention of wanting to help and get involved in charity with the beauty of Facebook.”

The group currently supports 19 different groups to which they contribute about Rs. 100,000 a month from the 10 percent donations of its sales and advertisements.

Having worked as a headhunter for 27 years, Michael has a knack for connecting people which he has applied here to foster sustainable partnerships between charities.

Rene Nakandala

On one occasion, he introduced a charity that makes mosquito nets to an orphanage in Tangalle who, with the high risk of dengue, was in dire need of mosquito nets for their children.

“We could buy them mosquito nets, but I asked the other charity if they would be the suppliers for this charity, if we supplied the material. They said they’d love to because they’d be making a contribution as well, instead of always being the recipient.”

“We also use crowd sourcing, so we use the group to fund things,” says Michael. One of the charities EPFS supports, the Manacare Foundation (providing work and help for children, adults and disabled) required computers for a computer club.

“They had 12 computers with only two working and I asked my IT department to have a look. They laughed when they saw the computers which had floppy disk drives!

They were completely rusted because they were by the sea.” Instead of going directly to the EPFS fund, Michael put the message out on Facebook and within 24 hours had 12 computers and six monitors donated, which they then paid to have upgraded.

“Another group wanted some paint and I said, let me do the same thing. We had 14 tins of paint donated and the interesting thing was that only two had been opened. Others had gone to the shop, bought paint and donated it. So we then got the paint sorted for nothing, and the funds are still there to help another charity.”

In order to facilitate the growing network of people and traffic on their Facebook group, EPFS is currently working on compiling a separate database on their own website, also ensuring better efficiency in an emergency.

Yet another inspiring story surrounds the young man assigned with this task. Rene Nakandala, who suffers from severe cerebral palsy, first approached Michael with a request to advertise himself on the group to gain employment.

The 24-year-old who had completed his A/Ls was struggling to find a job due to his physical disabilities. Impressed by Rene’s positive attitude and CV, Michael called him in for an interview following which he told him, “I’m not going to give you a job because you’re a disabled young man.

I am going to give you a job, on the first interview (which I never do) but it’s because you’re a smart young guy with a really great attitude and work ethic which we need more of.”

“Many people, even some in Australia, China and the United States, asked me to send them my CV,” Rene tells us, but he chose to work with Michael who had been the first to contact him. “I enjoy almost everything about working here.

We have a motive -work hard, have fun,” says Rene. In addition to organising data, Rene is also involved in visiting and writing about the group’s charities and activities from his perspective. He believes “the only disability is having the wrong attitude.”

The best thing, says Michael, is hearing how many people the group has touched. “People tell me it’s the Sri Lankan culture of passing things around the family which this has taken it to the next level.

How big it will grow, goodness knows. We think it will reach 10,000 by end of the year!”

Anyone interested, can find the EPFS community at https://www.facebook.com/groups/expatsfurnituresl

Number one priority: Go green now

Number one priority: Go green now

Caring and sharing online

Caring and sharing online

Editorial

Number one priority: Go green now

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What was expected to be only “hot air” from the recent Paris Climate Change summit refreshingly turned into a triumph for the ‘cool heads’ with a historic agreement being reached. Negotiators last weekend agreed to work out ways and means to bring the Earth’s temperature down below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degree Fahrenheit) i.e. to the point that it was before the Industrial Revolution that provided economic benefits to mankind through fossil fuels at the expense of nature and the environment.

The underlying theme was; ‘save it or lose it’; i.e. save the planet or lose it. Paris was considered a major breakthrough from previous summits — Kyoto in 1997 which failed as it set emission targets only for the economically developed countries (which the US failed to ratify) and then came Copenhagen with no agreements, no outcomes, no financial benefits voted, no eco-positive technology discussed.

Many remain sceptical of the Paris accord, though. Firstly they say all this climate change talk is unnecessary hype and it is the poor who will face the biggest setbacks because of job cuts and slower economic benefits as the world cleans up from petrol, gas and coal driven energy to green energy (wind, water, sun etc).

The proof of the pudding is in the eating, as they say. The Paris Agreement has no legal binding on Governments, no form of punishment, is based on peer pressure and has to be ratified by 55 countries. But the prospects are promising. They have pledged US$ 100 billion per annum to economically developing countries to switch from gas, petrol and coal to green energy technology. Still a ‘pledge’ no doubt, and a drop in comparison to the multi-billion dollar arms industry of these same donor countries — which Britain’s Prince Charles said in Paris was fouling up the air with wars in Europe and West Asia.

What plans Sri Lanka has for this conversion is a big question. Negotiators who went to Paris on behalf of the Government are quick to point out to the President’s election manifesto, and say that Sri Lanka will take action on its publicly outlined INDC (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions) to put the world on a low carbon climate-resilient path.

Last week the controversial Norochcholai coal power plant was totally shut down, not due to a Government decision to move away from coal but due to technical reasons. The agents who brought this dud plant to Sri Lanka go scot-free with their commissions stacked in the bank while engineers sweat it out to bring it back to life. On the other side of the island, India is pressing for a coal plant to be set up in Sampur. Can Sri Lanka therefore keep to the Paris targets with corruption by Ministers, businessmen and external pressures?

One hundred billion US dollars is up for grabs under the Paris Agreement and there is no doubt going to be a scramble for this ‘pot of gold’ from amongst economically developing countries, Sri Lanka included. Will Sri Lanka be pro-active enough and activate the process of planning to get some of this money?

Sri Lanka doesn’t have the best of records when it comes to obtaining overseas financial assistance, especially when it comes in the form of aid or concessionary loans with low interest rates. That is because many of those who negotiate these loans look for kickbacks; the gravy train in the form of commissions. Aid, donations and concessionary loans are un-attractive as they rarely have under-the-table deals.

Nevertheless, there is a great need for a ‘National Proposal’ to derive targeted technological or financial benefits for Sri Lanka under the US$ 100 billion plan. The Paris Agreement will — and must, bring academics and engineers, the public and private sectors together in Sri Lanka. The academics, and engineers in particular, have a golden opportunity to work and join hands with global technologists in turning towards green energy.

The Government must not get bogged down with budgets, trade union strikes, new Constitutions and the like. Important as they may be, the outcome of the Paris Climate Change summit is where the world is heading, and Sri Lanka must not be left out in the cold, so to say.

Lanka-UN ties at 60
As Sri Lanka marks the 60th year of its admission to the United Nations Organisation (UNO), there’s no better example of the contradiction in the World Order today as where one arm of the UN is hiring Sri Lankan soldiers to engage in its peace-keeping duties and another is prosecuting them for purported violations of International Humanitarian Laws.

Sri Lanka was admitted to the UN as a full member on December 14, 1955. This was in the early years of the duplicitous World Order that prevailed in the post-World War II era, the emergence of the Super Powers and the Cold War. Sri Lanka was then considered a puppet state of Western powers and membership came as a swap (along with countries like Italy, Spain etc.,) for the admission of the then Soviet Union’s satellite states such as Bulgaria, Romania and Albania.

In the early years, Sri Lanka’s contribution to the UN in terms of manpower was disproportionate to the country’s geographic size and population. Sri Lanka’s diplomats excelled at the highest levels, the dapper Ambassador Shirley Amarasinghe with a fresh rosebud on his lapel each day being the primo uomo of the lot, and a host of technocrats served in the organisation’s various agencies, UNESCO, FAO, UNDP, UNPF and more recently in UNAIDS etc. Today’s manpower comes more from brawn than brain, but equally plays a crucial role for World Peace.

Our Ambassador to the UN reminded one and all about Sri Lanka’s contributions to the Law of the Sea Conference, the Indian Ocean Peace Zone proposal, the International Year for Homeless, the International Day for the observation of Vesak, the World Youth Skills Day — all Sri Lankan initiatives at the world body.

In return, Sri Lanka has been a major beneficiary of the largesse of the UN. Today, we publish a special article written by President Maithripala Sirisena to mark this occasion, but unfortunately the same political undercurrents that existed at the time when the country gained full membership back in 1955 are seen today. The UN is viewed with an element of suspicion as being manipulated by the big powers. The UNHRC resolution being a text book case.

The 60 year milestone was marked at the UN headquarters in New York with a lunch attended by the Secretary General, but in Sri Lanka, there seemed hardly any enthusiasm — and unfortunately so.