Myanmar is engaged in “cultural and religious cooperation” with Sri Lanka, said the general secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation, as Myanmar’s government announced it would donate 300 tonnes on Saturday.
Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Myanmar attended a ceremony in Yagon on the weekend, alongside several Myanmar government officials. The donation of rice would be used towards helping landslide victims in the south of the island.
"Sri Lanka and Myanmar are engaged in cultural and religious cooperation,” said U Ye Min Aung, general secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation. “Sri Lanka buys rice and other agricultural products from Myanmar, and so, they are our trading clients. Therefore, we would like to express our concern to our trading partner with our contribution."
Myanmar has long held close links with Sinhala Buddhists in the South of the island. Last year, Sinhala Buddhist monks staged a rally in Colombo in support of Myanmar’s military offensive in the Rakhine state, which has displaced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe also said his government would not allow Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence into the island.
