Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa says Sri Lanka enters the new decade in a context where a new President was elected to power by the people with an overwhelming mandate.

In his message for the New Year 2020, the Premier said a new Parliamentary government has also been formed and it is in the process of commencing work.

“With this change of government the hope of a new Sri Lanka has galvanized and inspired the youth of this country,” says PM Rajapaksa.

“The most important feature of this new trend is that young people have spontaneously come forward, without any intervention from the government, to assume leadership over the task of building a new Sri Lanka. We have seen the manner in which young people all over the country have organized themselves and have cleaned the walls in public places and decorated them with attractive paintings,” he added.

This has transformed the whole of Sri Lanka within a matter of days, the Premier said, speaking of the posts in the social media which indicate that similar groups of young people who have been experimenting with the cultivation of land as well.

“All this is taking place through connections established via the social media. The most valuable resource that we have as we enter a new decade is this drive and motivation among young people to take an active part in developing the country. We saw a similar trend among young people during the war against the LTTE. The young people of that time never looked back until the LTTE was defeated and peace restored to this country.”

“It is my belief and expectation that the young people of today, who have been motivated and inspired to make a personal and direct contribution to building a new Sri Lanka, will not look back until they have achieved their objective of a prosperous and well governed country. The world recognizes the 21st Century as the Asian Century. We should make the third decade of the 21st Century which commences on the 1st of January, the Sri Lankan decade. Some day when the world looks back on the third decade of the 21st Century, it should be recognized as the decade in which Sri Lanka made its mark on the world. May the year 2020 and the new decade be a period in which all Sri Lankans realize their aspirations and the country achieves peace and prosperity.”