By Kang Hyun-kyung
Korea Times Correspondent
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka ― Sri Lankan government officials share the view that a fear of terrorism poses a major threat to local tourism industry.
Renton de Alwis, chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority in Colombo, said, there is ``no doubt that the local tourism industry has been hit hard by terrorism.''
The chairman said the government is fully aware of the detrimental effect of terrorism on tourism.
According to Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, tourism is one of the three major industries of the Sri Lankan economy, along with the tea and garment sectors.
Regarding terrorism fears, Sri Lankan Ambassador to Seoul Asitha Perera told The Korea Times that his government has used the so-called carrot and stick approach to deal with the militants.
Early this month, a suicide bomber, a suspected Tamil Tiger, killed 11 people and wounded 92 in Colombo.
``The Sri Lankan government has used a dual policy strategy,'' said Perera.
``The government is trying to embrace the militants in the northern territory by encouraging them to participate in the governmental and parliamentary affairs, while standing firm on any kinds of terrorist attacks,'' he said.
Perera said Sri Lanka is eager to bolster its trade partnership with Korea with the inauguration of President Lee Myung-bak on Feb. 25.
The ambassador and President-elect Lee met first at a party to celebrate the publication of Lee's book held in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, last year.
Lee declared his presidential bid for the party candidate at the event.
``I went there in an effort to build a good working relationship with then frontrunner candidate. I was the only foreign ambassador there,'' Perera continued. ``Lee was very surprised to see me and also very pleased.''
After the first impressive union, Lee and Perera met again after Lee won the August party nomination last year.
The chief envoy said Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa handpicked him for the Korea mission.
``I declined to take the offer initially because I was not knowledgeable about Korea,'' he said.
The ambassador soon spoke frankly, saying Korea was not his preferred duty station.
Perera's initial decline has not affected the President's determination to put him in the crucial mission of strengthening the economic ties with Korea.
``The President asked me to look at the declining trade between the two countries over the past decade. Japan and Malaysia have risen as major trade partners with Korea, while Sri Lanka has been lackluster,'' he said.
According to the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), trade between the two economies has been falling by more than 50 percent since 1997.
The figure stood at $530 million in 1997 and has continued to decline since then, marking $ 231 million in 2006.
The continued decline in trade between Korea and Sri Lanka is a stark contrast with Korea's economic relations with Malaysia.
Trade between Korea and Malaysia had grown by approximately 20 percent annually until 1997 when a financial crisis hit Asian countries.
The KOTRA report said the regional economic malaise gave a negative impact on bilateral trade with Malaysia temporarily, yet it has been on the rise after 1999.
Korea's economic ties with Sri Lanka are on going in a downward direction, while those with Malaysia are on the rise.
Choi Jae-jong, chairman of Ceylon Heavy Industries & Construction in Colombo, a local firm of Doosan Group, made the point on the possible role of Sri Lanka in helping Korean government's energy diplomacy.
``Sri Lanka is culturally globalized and has no religious conflicts. The Korean government needs to look at the geopolitical location of Sri Lanka,'' he said.
Choi has led the local firm employing more than 600 workers for a year.
``The Korean government can benefit from solid ties with Sri Lanka as this country has very good relations with its neighboring countries such as India and Middle Eastern countries,'' the businessman said.