Sri Lanka Foreign Minister says 18th Amendment was needed for country's progress

Sri Lanka's External Affaires Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris has defended the recent passage of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution saying that it was urgently needed to proceed with the development work and not about the removal of term limits.

In an interview with Megha Bahree, a staff writer for Forbes, the Minister has said that the bill had to be approved urgently to prepare the budget for the next year and to appoint the commissions as rapidly as possible.

"Had we not implemented it, we could not have put together our budget by November. The Supreme Court couldn't have intervened if it hadn't been marked urgent," Prof. Peiris was quoted.

Regarding the term limits, the Minister has said that people may elect the person they wanted.

"The people of Sri Lanka want us to get on with the job and not an endless see-sawing in Parliament," he has said.

When asked about the development in the North and East, the Minister has pointed out that new industries to promote fisheries and the agriculture are springing up in the region with the assistance of Japanese and American companies. Several apparel companies have also opened up factories and an economic renaissance is taking place in the region.