During summit held by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Seoul, Lee said Sri Lanka’s economy has grown steadily and its political situation stabilized due to Rajapaksa’s leadership.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa held a summit in Seoul Tuesday to discuss ways to strengthen economic and other cooperation between the two countries.

Rajapaksa arrived in Seoul Monday for a four-day state visit.

During Tuesday’s summit, Lee said Sri Lanka’s economy has grown steadily and its political situation stabilized due to Rajapaksa’s leadership. Lee also thanked Sri Lanka for sending a pair of elephants two years ago as a token of friendship between the two countries.

   “In particular, more than 20,000 Sri Lankan workers are contributing to the economy of South Korea and they are beloved by South Korean businessmen,” Lee said during the summit, referring to migrant workers from the South Asian nation.

   Lee said the two countries agreed to expand the Sri Lankan workforce in South Korea.

   Further details of the agreement were not immediately available.

   Rajapaksa’s trip to Seoul also includes a forum with business leaders of the two countries and a meeting with leading South Korean trade organizations.

   South Korea and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations in 1977.

Meanwhile South Korea announced that it will provide Sri Lanka with US$200 million in development loans that can be used for future infrastructure building by the South Asian country, the South Korean finance ministry said Tuesday.

   Under the memorandum of understanding, the money to come from South Korea’s Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) will be used in various agricultural and public work projects as well as education and health-related programs, it said.

   “The agreement is important because it raises transparency on the amount of money that will be offered, making it easier for Colombo to set up its national development plans,” the ministry said.

   The EDCF can make it possible for local companies to take part in the ongoing 10-year national infrastructure building plan that runs through 2016, it said.

   The loans can also strengthen bilateral economic ties with the country that buys South Korean cars, knitted goods and synthetic rubber. Two-way trade between the two countries reached $426 million last year, with South Korea posting a $262 million surplus.

   In the past, Seoul provided development loans to 22 projects worth $460 million, making Sri Lanka the fourth-largest beneficiary of official overseas assistance, Yonhap reports.

Tamil leaders wanted a political solution to the ethnic problem within the framework of united Sri Lanka and no one raised the issue of a separate Tamil Eelam, said CPI(M) MP T.K. Rangarajan, who was part of the Indian Parliamentary delegation that toured Sri Lanka last week.

When asked about DMK president M. Karunanidhi’s demand for United Nations intervention and referendum for formation of Tamil Eelam on the lines of East Timor, Kosovo and Montenegro, Mr Rangarajan said the team interacted almost with every Tamil leaders and none of them, including representatives of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), pressed for Eelam.

“At the citizens meeting at Jaffna and also in a session with the Sri Lankan MPs, TNA leader Sampanthan stressed for a political solution within the united Sri Lanka and never talked about Eelam,” he said.

“I am a Sri Lankan and wanted to die as a Sri Lankan,” Mr Rangarajan quoted Mr Sampanthan as saying.

Mr Rangarajan said Ms Sushma Swaraj, the leader of the Indian delegation, brought to the attention of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa the aspiration of the Tamils, seeking greater autonomy for Tamil regions and elections to the North and he gave a patient hearing.

Women empowerment

“One issue that moved all of us was the plight of 45,000 Tamil widows. In Batticaloa alone, there are 23,000 widows, 13,000 of whom are under the age of 23. I could not control my emotions when I talked to them,” Mr Rangarajan said.

The Indian delegation took up the issue with Mr Rajapaksa and he had said there were another 30,000 widows of Sri Lankan soldiers who were killed in the war.

The governments of Sri Lanka and India already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and started Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA), an organisation for empowering war affected women.

Around 800 of them visited Gujarat, Maharastra and Karnataka to get training in information technology, embroidery, food processing and packaging of fruits, vegetables and spices, solar lantern assembling and making and roof rain water harvesting.

Some of the teachers from Gujarat were Sri Lankan and continue to teach them.

The CPI(M) leader said that in many places the Sri Lankan army had occupied the temples and the locals wanted their immediate withdrawal.

“Sri Lankan Tamils are strong Saivites and they feel the Army’s presence is a hindrance to daily rituals.

They were forced to close temples by five in the evening, while the ‘arthajama pooja’ has to be conducted at midnight. We have brought it to the notice of Mr Rajapaksa and he asked officials to look into the issue,” Mr. Rangarajan said.

Education

Another area the Sri Lankan Tamils needed India’s help was education, he said.

“Jaffna was synonymous with education and excellence. Today it is in a pathetic state. India has rebuilt 22 schools in Jaffna, but lack of Mathematics, English and Science teachers is a problem,” he said.

Mr Rangarajan said once the work in Kangesanthurai was completed, it would result in moving of goods from Nagapattinam and Karaikal on regular basis, the Hindu reports.