Consequent to an invitation extended by Mr. Suswono, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Minister of Plantation Industries, paid an official visit to Indonesia from 2nd to 4th January 2011. The Minister was accompanied by Mr. P.L.U. Dissanayake, Additional Secretary (Development), Ministry of Plantation Industries of Sri Lanka, Prof. H.P.M. Gunasena, Chairman, Coconut Research Institute (CRI), Dr. S.S.B.D.G. Jayawardena, Chairman, Tea Research Institute, and Dr. H.A.J. Gunatilleke, Officer in charge of the Oil Palm Division in CRI.
During the mutually beneficial discussions the Minister had with his counterpart in Jakarta, the Minister conveyed his compliments and his deep appreciation to H.E. the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Suswono, the Government and friendly People of Indonesia, on behalf of President Mahinda Rajapaksa for the cooperation and assistance extended by Indonesia towards the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, specially during the final stages of the humanitarian operations in defeating terrorism in Sri Lanka at various International Fora.
Both Ministers agreed to enter into an MOU between the Ministry of Plantation Industries of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia on the Cooperation for the Development of Oil Palm and Tea sectors as a matter of priority. Both Ministers expressed confidence that there is much potential to enhance cooperation between the two countries in these sectors of oil palm and tea. Under the MOU, Sri Lanka would be able to explore training opportunities in oil palm sector, development of a protocol for oil palm tissue culture, including the establishment of an oil palm seed garden in Sri Lanka to produce hybrid seeds, etc. From Indonesian side they agreed to provide commercial seeds to Sri Lanka. The cooperation in the commodity sector will not only benefit oil palm and tea industries between the two countries but also will underscore bilateral relations as well, Minister Samarasinghe said.
The MOU is expected to be signed in Colombo in March 2011. The Minister of Plantation Industries extended an invitation to the Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia, Suswono, to visit Sri Lanka for the signing of the MOU. The two Ministers exchanged “Letters of Intent” on 3rd January 2011 on the Establishment of Cooperation between the two ministries for the development of Oil Palm and Tea Sectors. The Minister was in the company of Major General (Retd.) Nanda Mallawaarachchi, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Jakarta, and all senior officials of the delegation.
An informal discussion was held on 2nd January 2011 between Senior Officials of the two sides to discuss matters arising from the Draft MOU and the technical aspects.
Official level discussions were held on the 3rd January 2011 at the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia. The Vice Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia and Senior Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture attended the official meeting. From the Sri Lankan side, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka and Senior Officials of the Ministry of Plantation Industries attended. The two sides discussed in detail matters pertaining to the Establishment of Cooperation in Oil Palm and Tea Sectors and various other elements of the draft MOU.
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Indonesia also arranged a field visit for the officials of the Sri Lankan delegation to “Gunung Mas Tea Estate” in Puncak and a discussion followed with the officials of the Indonesian Tea Research Institute, etc.
Sri Lanka Embassy
Jakarta
10th January 2011
