Let us not forget that the people are the greatest wealth of our nations, President Mahinda Rajapaksa stated during his opening address at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013 opening ceremony a short while ago.
Addressing the delegates from the attending nations, the President said that the Commonwealth should be addressing issues of common poverty before issues of common wealth.
He questioned whether we could realistically say that the need for basic facilities such as food, water and healthcare, are of lesser importance than political concerns.
The President also elaborated on the progress that Sri Lanka had made since the end of the war citing several facts including levels of absolute poverty which have dropped to 6.5% from 15.2% in 2007 which he added, surpassed the Millennium Development Goals mid-term target.
He also added that the country had adopted a positive approach towards post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation while claiming that all the religions followed in Sri Lanka have taught us to uphold the highest human values.
President Rajapaksa also warned the delegates that bilateral agendas should not be tolerated by the Commonwealth.
