Exchanging gifts: Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa (right) exchanges a gift with Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda (left) during a ceremony in Colombo last week, while Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama looks on. Hassan visited Sri Lanka from March 29 to30, 2009, to strengthen the relations between the two countries. (Courtesy of the Sri Lankan Embassy)

As a good maritime neighbor, Indonesia last week donated a consignment of relief items – including 500 tons of rice, and 2 tons of medicine and infant food – to internally displayed persons (IDP) in Sri Lanka, the South Asian country’s ambassador to Indonesia said Friday.

“Indonesian Foreign Minister Bapak Hassan Wirajuda visited Sri Lanka from March 29 to 30. During this visit, minister Hassan handed over the relief consignment to the Sri Lankan government,” Ambassador Maj. Gen. (ret) Nanda Mallawarachchi  told The Jakarta Post.

The relief items, Mallawarachchi added, were meant for IDPs in Sri Lanka’s Northern province, a Tamil-majority state.

Sri Lanka has been facing a violent ethnic rebellion since 1983. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE), which the Sri Lankan government brands a terrorist organization, has been waging a violent campaign for a separate Tamil state in Sri Lanka, during which more than 70,000 people have been killed.

Hassan was in Sri Lanka at the invitation of his Sri Lankan counterpart Rohitha Bogollagama, who visited Indonesia last December to attend the Bali Democracy Forum in Nusa Dua, Bali.

During his two-day visit, Hassan held bilateral talks with Bogollagama and pledged that “Indonesia will not allow its territory to be used for carrying out or facilitating any terrorist activities against Sri Lanka”.

“Hassan also reiterated Indonesia’s strong support for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Mallawarachchi said in a statement sent to the Post.

Hassan also met with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka.

During the last five years, the relations between Sri Lanka and Indonesia have grown rapidly.

“Bilateral trade has grown at an average of 25 percent annually during the last five years. In 2007, both countries signed a memorandum of understanding on combating international terrorism.

“Sri Lanka sought the early action of the MOU on defense cooperation, which would also entail intelligence sharing,” the statement said.

Mallawarachchi said Hassan and Bogollagama also signed an agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official/ service passports on March 30, 2009.

According to Mallawarachchi, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono accepted an invitation from President Rajapaksa to visit Sri Lanka.The invitation was extended to President Yudhoyono during the visit of Bogollagama to Indonesia in December 2008.

Hassan also delivered a lecture on “Indonesian Foreign Policy & ASEAN” at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations & Strategic Studies in Colombo during his visit.

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