Pompeo calls China 'Predator', says US come as a friend and partner (VIDEO)

Good Governance, Transparency, and Policy consistently will attract even more American investments, he said noting those principles are deeply consistent with Sri Lanka's history, heritage as the oldest democracy in Asia.

"We had a wide-ranging discussion on our security cooperation which helps keep some of the worlds vital sea lanes open," he said adding "a strong and powerful Sri Lanka is a strategic partner for the United States on the world stage and it can be a beacon for an open Indo-Pacific,".

The US Secretary of State who was on a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka met with the country's President and Foreign Minister on Wednesday (28) morning.

He said it quite a contrast to what China seeking noting the Chinese Communist Party was operating as a “predator” in Sri Lanka.

“We see from bad deals, violations of sovereignty and lawlessness on land and sea that the Chinese Communist Party is a predator, and the United States comes in a different way, we come as a friend, and as a partner,” Pompeo said at a joint press conference with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.

Sri Lankans of all backgrounds Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, and Muslims alike want a peaceful nation where their Human Rights are respected, said the US Secretary of State.

Mike Pompeo said the United States is counting on the words by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa in his victory speech last year stating he is president of all citizens and not only of those who voted for him, to hold true.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday (28) said the US fully expects Sri Lanka will fulfill its pledges to take meaningful concrete steps to promote accountability, justice, and reconciliation.

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