COLOMBO, Reuter: Foreign Minister Shahul Hameed has said Sri Lanka does not intend to resume diplomatic relations with Israel, cut 16 years ago.
I can assure you that the Sri Lanka government does not intend to establish diplomatic ties with Israel, but his does not mean that we do not talk to each other” Hameed told Parliament.
He denied an opposition statement that the International Monetary Fund had promised one billion dollars for next year’s budget if Israel was granted full diplomatic status,
Sri Lanka broke off diplomatic ties in 1970 to protest against Israel’s occupation of Arab territory.
The present government allowed Israel to set up an “interests section” in the US. Embassy in 1974 so that Israeli experts could train security forces in anti-guerrilla intelligence gathering
‘The move raised a storm of protests from local Moslems as ‘well as from Arab countries.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 17, 1986
