The Government also plans to set up special economic zones in a number of areas in the country, including Jaffna, Kandy, Hambantota and Trincomalee, with an objective of providing youth with 1 million employment avenues.

According to Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe, this is one of the flagship programs of the Government, which would be implemented after the General election.

"The unemployment issue is not merely limited to the North, but is prevalent in all provinces," he said.

He said the Northern Province was ahead of all other provinces in terms of agriculture, while more technology should be used in agriculture.

"We are ready to make the necessary financial allocations to achieve this objective in the agriculture sector," he said.

The Prime Minister was speaking at a meeting to review the progress of resettlement in the Jaffna District yesterday (March 29). The meeting was held at the Jaffna District Secretariat.

The Prime Minister was of the view that the development of the country is possible, if the Jaffna district is developed to suit the 21st century.

He said that the people, who wanted to achieve genuine peace in the country, gave a mandate to President Maithripala Sirisena and the government is exercising that mandate.

The Prime Minister said that only economic solutions or development of infrastructure facilities will not help solve the issues of the people in the Northern Province and a political solution should be evolved to ensure permanent peace. He said that the Government had already taken the right decision which would help solve the issue of Tamil people.

The Prime Minister said that he would turn the next parliament into a government with an objective of solving the ethnic issue and each member would have a responsibility in this regard.