Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera led the Sri Lanka delegation to the Third Session of the Maldives – Sri Lanka Joint Commission held from 08 - 09 February 2017 in the Maldives.
The Maldivian delegation was led by his counterpart, Hon. Dr. Mohamed Asim, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Minister of Education Dr. Aishath Shiham, and Minister of Gender and Family Ms. Aminath Zenysha Shaheed Zaki joined Minister Asim at the talks. The Ministerial meeting was preceded by the Meeting of Senior Officials held on 8 February 2017, that was co-chaired by Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ranjith Uyangoda and Secretary, Bilateral Affairs of the Foreign Ministry of the Maldives, Ahmed Khaleel.
During his visit to Malé, Minister Samaraweera called on Maldivian President H.E. Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
The Joint Commission focused on further expanding bilateral cooperation in the areas of Economic cooperation and Trade, Fisheries, Education, Health, Tourism and Cultural cooperation between the two countries. Both sides agreed to redouble their efforts to bolster engagement with a view to promote opportunities for investment and joint ventures.
On Economic cooperation and Trade, both sides agreed to constitute a Joint Working Group on Trade in order to promote trade in goods and services in a more focused manner. Having welcomed Sri Lanka’s proposal to finalize the tourism work plan, the two sides agreed to take forward decisions of the existing Joint Task force on Tourism, to explore the potential for further cooperation.
The Joint Commission noted the outcome of the Maldives - Sri Lanka Sub Commission on Fisheries constituted in 2007 and agreed to reconvene the Task Force at a mutually convenient time in order that all issues relating to fisheries cooperation could be addressed.
The two sides recognized the importance of implementation of the existing Agreement on Sports Cooperation. The Joint Commission also noted that education and health are key areas of cooperation and underscored the need to implement the MoUs signed in those fields. The Joint Commission also discussed at length the enhancement of bilateral cooperation in areas such as employment, consular and community issues, legal and law enforcement, and culture.
The agreed Minutes of the Joint Commission was signed by both Foreign Ministers at a Signing Ceremony held at the conclusion of meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives.
The next Session of the Joint Commission is scheduled to be held in Colombo in 2019.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
09 February 2017
