When the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the People’s Republic of China, Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku, met both the Chinese and foreign media on the sidelines of the Reception that was held to celebrate Sri Lanka’s National Day on 04 February at the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing, a journalist cited the security arrangements of the two other seaports in the region that the Chinese built/managed, and asked whether Chinese investors had requested special security arrangements for their proposed investment in Hambantota.

 The Ambassador replied that he did not want to comment about the ports in other countries but that, as far as Sri Lanka is concerned, the security arrangements that are made for and provided to foreign investors in Sri Lanka is a matter for the relevant Sri Lankan agencies. He clarified that this is the standard that is applied for all foreign investment, irrespective of the country from which the foreign investment comes.

In the case of Hambantota, neither the Government of China nor the respective investor had made a request for their own security arrangements, as far as he is aware, he said. Therefore, permission for such a country-specific security arrangement does not arise, the Ambassador concluded.