President Maithripala Sirisena says he will committed to ensure the peace and reconciliation in the country while building peace, brotherhood and reconciliation among the communities as well as developing the field of sports which is a universal language for healing hearts.

He made these remarks at the closing ceremony of the 42nd National Games held at the Duraiappah Stadium in Jaffna, yesterday (02) with the aim of building peace, brotherhood and reconciliation in the country.

The President pointed out that the sports ground is a place where everyone can meet irrespective of their race, religion, caste or regional differences. He also said that the sports play an important role in developing discipline in persons and it has the power to transform an undisciplined society to a disciplined one.

President Sirisena further said that today there is a strong need for good moral values in our country as well as for the whole world and as a result of lack of these ethical values today the whole world is at war. The whole world should reach excellence in moral values to build lasting peace.  

The present Government is committed to provide maximum facilities for the upliftment of Sports with the aim of building a disciplined society. The President also said that he will provide assistance to develop sports skills of the children in every part of the country to reduce the development disparities across the country.

All the facilities including high quality stadiums, modern technology will be provided in this regard for each region, the President said.

Nearly 800 athletes representing 9 provinces in the country participated in this 42nd National Games and the President also presented awards for the athletes who showed outstanding performances.

Opposition Leader R Sampanthan, Chief Minister of the Northern Province C.V. Wigneswaran, Governor of the Northern Province, Reginald Cooray, Minister of Sports, Dayasiri Jayasekara, State Minister, Vijayakala Maheswaran, Local governments Sports Minister, athletics and many others participated in this event.