Australia & Sri Lanka

Presented By Viraj Sashankan.

Contents

Geographic Size Languages Currency

Main Industries Main imports and exports Sport The Connection: 1 The Connection: 2

The Connection: 3 The Connection:4

Why Sri Lanka? Population

The Connection:5 The Connection:6 The Connection:7

The Connection:8Personal

Connections

Why Sri Lanka?

I chose Sri Lanka as the country to compare and contrast with Australia because:• My Parents were born in Sri Lanka,• Learn more about my heritage.

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Compare & Contrast - Population

• Australia’s population is around 23 000 000.• Sri Lanka’s population is approximately 22 000 000.• Numbers are similar.

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Compare & Contrast - Geographic Size

• Australia’s geographic size is 7.692 million square metres.• Sri Lanka’s geographic size is 65 610 square kilometres.• Sri Lanka is very similar in area to Tasmania.• Living in Sri Lanka could be compared in some ways to having the entire

population of Australia squeezed into Tasmania!!

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Compare & Contrast - Languages

• Australia - English.• Sri Lanka – English, Tamil and Sinhala.• In Sri Lanka, English was the official language during the British Rule.• Language is not a barrier between the 2 countries.

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Compare & Contrast - Currency

• Australia - ($) dollars.• Sri Lanka - (Rs or LKR) Rupees.• The English Pound was used in

Australia and Sri Lanka in their early colonial days

• Sri Lanka converted to the Rupee 1869 and Australia changed to the Australian dollar in 1966.

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Compare & Contrast – Main Industries

• Australia - Mining, agriculture (sheep, cattle, grain and fruit crops), and tourism.• Sri Lanka - Tea, agriculture

(rice, coconuts, grains), tourism.• The industries

import/export.• Both countries seem to have

a good trade relationship.

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Compare & Contrast – Imports & Exports

• Australia - Export to Sri Lanka - Vegetables, dairy products and wheat.• Sri Lanka - Import from Sri Lanka – Tea, clothing, and rubber tyres.• They have a good bilateral relationship which will be discussed later in

the presentation.

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Compare & Contrast - Sports

• Australia - Cricket, AFL, Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer.• Sri Lanka – Cricket and Rugby.• Both countries play cricket at an international level. • They share a great passion.

For more interesting facts, please refer to my weebly page.

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The ConnectionColonisationBoth countries share a history of being colonised by the British Government:

• Australia was colonised by Britain in 1788.• 1815 to 1948 Sri Lanka was under British rule.

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The Connection

Second World WarAustralia and Sri Lanka both played a major role in the Second World War. 1 million Australians served in this war and Sri Lanka was used as a front-line British base.

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The Connection

Commonwealth Countries• Australia and Sri Lanka are

members of the Commonwealth• The Commonwealth Games • Australia joined the

Commonwealth on 11 Dec 1931.• Sri Lanka joined the

Commonwealth on 4 Feb 1948.

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The ConnectionBilateral Relationship • Australia has a good bilateral

relationship with Sri Lanka.• Trade, education,

immigration, strong people-to-people links and development co-operation. • Australia's Sri Lankan

community is estimated at 110,000 people and this shows there is a deep link between the 2 countries.

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The ConnectionAnother way we can see this link is the way in which Australia is helping Sri Lanka rebuild its country after the civil war which ended in 2009.

Prime Minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, with families being supported under the government’s assistance to rebuild homes, 16 Dec 2013.

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The Connection• In 2012–13, Australia provided $42.6 million in development assistance to Sri Lanka for reconstruction

of schools and houses damaged during the civil war. • Funding also helped disadvantaged people find work, start a business or restart farming or fishing

activities.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr has announced a multi-million dollar funding package for Sri Lankan school children during his three-day visit to Colombo (Dec 2012)

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The ConnectionTwo-way trade between Australia and Sri Lanka in 2011 was valued at $362 million, with exports to Sri Lanka totalling $244 million.

Tea export from Sri Lanka to Australia.

Vegetables exported from Australia to Sri Lanka.

Rubber tyre export from Sri Lanka to Australia

Dairy export from Australia to Sri Lanka

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The ConnectionAustralia is considered the most popular study destination for Sri Lankan students. About 4,500 Sri Lankan students are currently enrolled at Australian universities.

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My Personal ConnectionIt makes me happy to see that my country of birth (Australia) has such a strong link to my heritage which goes back to Sri Lanka. I am thankful that Australia is helping in so many ways to rebuild Sri Lanka and it is also good to see Sri Lanka returning the favour through their bilateral relationship.

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