COLOMBO (News 1st) – While speaking at the launch of the Bandaranaike Research Hub on Wednesday (May 2), former diplomat Dr. Jayantha Dhanapala criticised the government’s failure to exploit the opportunities that were available to bring about peace and reconciliation.

He noted that the failure is exacerbated by the deficiencies of Sri Lanka’s current foreign policies.

“In the globalised multipolar world we now live in, we are called upon to interrupt pragmatically with other states, international organisations and non-state actors in a rule-based international society,” he added.

Furthermore, he said in order to maximize the benefits of such an interaction we need to pursue a foreign policy that is balanced, principled and based on enlightened national self-interest and not the political interest of the governing party.