The US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells said that both Sri Lanka and the United States have “compelling shared interests” as she spoke to reporters on her return from the island.
“As you know, Sri Lanka occupies some very important real estate in the Indo-Pacific region, and it’s a country of increasing strategic importance in the Indian Ocean region,” Wells told reporters.
“We had productive meetings with President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was elected last November, and his brother Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, as well as the foreign minister, representatives of the opposition, as well as leaders of the Tamil National Alliance and civil society. And I would say the election itself was noteworthy. Sri Lanka is Asia’s oldest democracy. The election was contested, it was fair, and it delivered a clear mandate to President Rajapaksa.”
Wells, who was in the region to attend the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, was joined in Sri Lanka by Lisa Curtis, the deputy assistant to the President, from the NSC.
“In our meeting with the president, Lisa Curtis and I conveyed a letter from President Trump emphasizing the value that we place on continued engagement with Sri Lanka that’s pursuing the path of reform and reconciliation, and we really welcomed the president’s statement that he wants to be president for all Sri Lankans,” she added.
Wells went on to state,
“We have compelling shared interests that include countering violent extremism, strengthening maritime security, preventing narcotics smuggling, promoting investment and economic growth as part of a free and open Indo-Pacific. And ultimately, the quality of our partnership will reflect our success in strengthening shared values, including on the critical issue of healing the wounds of Sri Lanka’s civil war.”
See her full remarks here.
Last year, Wells told the US House Foreign Affairs Committee that the appointment of Shavendra Silva to the head of Sri Lanka’s army had “deeply concerned” Washington about the "negative message the appointment sends for Sri Lanka’s purported commitment to post-war accountability.”
Wells, who is the top US diplomat for South Asia, went on to add,
“The allegations of gross human rights violations against him, documented by the United Nations and other organisations, are serious and credible. The appointment undermines Sri Lanka’s international reputation and its commitments to promote justice and accountability, especially at a time when the need for reconciliation and social unity remain paramount.”
In 2017, whilst Acting Assistant Secretary of State, Wells also reiterated the need for Sri Lanka to prosecute alleged war crimes.