Political analyst and former Ambassador Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka slammed the foreign policy of the government, pointing out that there is no uniformity in the policies followed by the President and the Foreign Minister.

Speaking to BBC Sandeshaya, he said that the foreign policy of the Rajapaksa government was in need of a change. He said that Sri Lanka was in need of the foreign policy adapted by late Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgarmar. His policy was balanced and did not compromise on national sovereignty at the same time, Jayatilleka said. However, the foreign policy of the new government has not shown the change that was needed, he pointed out.

Jayatilleka added that the positive developments of the foreign policy have come from President Maithripala Sirisena, who has given priority to Asia. He has also said that Sri Lanka’s foreign policy will be based on non-alignment. However, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has never said this, Jayatilleka added. Contrary to President Sirisena’s policies, the government is pulling towards a pro-Western agenda, Jayatilleka alleged.

Speaking further, he pointed out that Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera chose UK and USA for official visits before he had visited China. This clearly showed the difference in foreign policy alignment, Jayatilleka argued.

He also pointed out that Sri Lanka has to keep in mind the local political situations in other countries when dealing with them. For example, British political parties are competing for the sizeable Tamil vote in the upcoming General Election. These realities should not be forgotten, Jayatilleka warned.