President Ranil Wickremesinghe advised that future generations should get better education and value principles and never run away from challenges.
The President said this while responding to a question raised in a meeting with the youth of Batticaloa district on what advice he would give to the future generations regarding the successful leadership of the country and the experiences of the President as a great politician.
President Ranil Wickramasinghe said this at the youth team meeting held yesterday (22) at the Golden River Hotel in Batticaloa.
The meeting was attended by a large number of young men and women and the President gave positive answers to their questions.
After this meeting, the President also participated in films with the youth who attended the meeting.
Here are the answers given by President Ranil Wickramasinghe to the questions raised by the youth.
Question – How did you take up the challenge of rescuing a country from crisis and what is your future plan? I aspired to study at the Colombo Royal College where you studied. It was just a dream. Will the future generation get that opportunity or will other schools be developed to match it?
Answer- I took charge of the country while everyone was running away. No one should be afraid of challenges if they have self-belief. Shabbats used for running should not be used for running in fear of challenges. I accepted it in the hope of saving the country. What would have happened to the country if I had not taken charge? There would have been no occasion to even sit here and talk like this. Don’t be afraid of challenges. Never run away. Like the Royal College, the facilities of many schools are to be improved. Government can provide better education. But you can’t give backbone. He must have it.
Question – We import many products from other countries and from resources in the country. What ideas do you have to improve our factories?
Answer – You said that your favorite singer is Yuvan Shankar Raja. So we import the songs ourselves. I have no objection to strengthening our markets in an open world. So far we have not focused on exporting our country’s products. We should focus on exports. To create an export economy. During the crisis, we did not have sufficient stock of Vauinat. Domestic revenue will also be needed to import fuel. We were not able to repay the loan taken for such needs.
So we should think about strengthening the export by using the resources we have.
A trained force is also a part of our resources. Next is tourism. We can build more than 100 tourist hotels in Batticaloa alone. Similarly, the country can earn income through modernization of agriculture.
Even if the country recovers from bankruptcy, if we do not move towards an export economy, we will face the same problem again within the next 15-20 years. The best way to do this is to target the development of agriculture and tourism sectors and move towards an export economy. That is why the Economic Reform Act has been brought.
Question – You are a great leader. Great politician. Accordingly, what kind of advice would you give to the youth for a brighter future?
Answer – To study well. Intelligent thinking is required. Respect the principles. Never run away from challenges. replied the President.
Governor of Eastern Province Senthil Thondaman, Ministers of State S. Vyazendran, Sivanesathur Chandrakanthan, Senior Adviser to the President on National Security and Chief of the Presidential Task Force Sagala Ratnayake, Education Secretary of Eastern Province H.E.M.W. G. Dissanayake, Provincial Director of Education Sujatha Kulendrakumar and others were also present.
Following this, President Ranil Wickremesinghe also met the traders of Batticaloa district yesterday (22).
The President briefed the businessmen on the broad plan to develop the Eastern Province in terms of tourism, agriculture and industry and advised that Trincomalee would be transformed into a power center in consultation with the Government of India.
Likewise, President Ranil Wickramasinghe requested the businessmen that the Eastern Province will play a major role in leading the country towards an export economy and join the government’s program to bring about broad development in the Eastern Province in the next five years.
