Merger of North and East will not take place

Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake has rejected the idea of a merger of the Northern and Eastern Provinces for economic reasons.

To a question of why the merger should not be allowed to achieve cost reduction, considering the fact that the Northern Province accounted for 4% of Sri Lanka’s gross domestic product (GDP) and the East 6%, Karunanayake told The Hindu that “at this moment, we are trying to embrace all races, all religions together. I do not think we should segregate it geographically.”

On the proposed donor conference for the North and the East, the Minister said the Japanese had come forward to take part in the event, which he said could take place by June or July next year. (Colombo Gazette)