Your Excellency Abdulla Khaleel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives,
Friends from the media,
It is indeed an honour and great pleasure for Sri Lanka to welcome Minister Abdulla Khaleel, who is on an official visit, leading a high-level delegation including the Foreign Secretary of Maldives. This being his maiden visit to Sri Lanka after assuming office, is of special significance for both our nations.
Sri Lanka and Maldives enjoy centuries-old relations in diverse areas based on strong socio-cultural affinities. As longstanding friends and members of regional and multilateral organizations, our two countries have deepened cooperation in matters of mutual interest over the years.
This high level bilateral engagement is testimony to our close ties and commitment to further our multifaceted cooperation.
This evening, Foreign Minister Khaleel will call on President His Excellency Anura Kumara Disanayaka and the Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.
Friends from the media,
A while ago, Minister Khaleel and I have had the opportunity to hold detailed bilateral discussions on diverse topics of mutual interest.
At the outset, I conveyed Sri Lanka's commitment to elevate our bilateral relations with Maldives to new and greater heights.
On taking forward our bilateral cooperation, a number of important initiatives were discussed.
I expressed Sri Lanka’s willingness in strengthening bilateral economic relations with Maldives which is also a priority for Sri Lanka in the country's economic recovery process.
With a view to strengthening investment partnerships through joint ventures, I invited investments from Maldives in diverse sectors.
We noted that Sri Lankan companies have extensively invested in Maldives in multiple sectors such as tourism and hotel industry, banking and construction benefitting both our countries.
We also noted the valuable contributions made by Sri Lankans in Maldives with their expertise including in the education, banking and healthcare sectors.
We discussed extensively on deepening cooperation in the aviation sector especially on enhancing air connectivity.
On employment sector cooperation, I appreciated Maldives’ commitment in providing employment opportunities for Sri Lankans and expressed hope that we could identify the ways and means to diversify the employment opportunities for Sri Lankans in Maldives. I also requested the Maldives side to consider the possibility of using the Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) and Sri Lankan Rupee (LKR) for cross-border transactions by the Sri Lankan workforce for the benefit of our migrant workers in Maldives.
Friends from the media,
Tourism is a key economic driver for both our nations, and Sri Lanka plays a significant role in providing skilled professionals and tourism services to Maldives. We discussed matters of mutual cooperation to attract more tourists to our countries, also keeping in mind Sri Lanka’s target of 3 million tourist arrivals this year. We agreed to build partnerships through investments in the tourism and leisure sector and strengthening cooperation in mutually beneficial areas.
Both our countries being Indian Ocean littoral States, we discussed the need to collaborate in the fisheries sector. We shared views on the provision of transit passage for Sri Lankan fishing vessels for smooth access to the Arabian Sea and further means of cooperation.
Sri Lanka and Maldives are deeply committed towards environmental protection, ocean health and climate change and have agreed to jointly collaborate on regional trade initiatives, climate change adaptation, and blue economy strategies. We further, widely discussed on collective mechanisms to promote sustainable development.
We discussed regarding strengthening cooperation in the renewable energy sector to benefit both economies in the long run.
We in Sri Lanka have played a key role in supporting Maldivian students and professionals and I expressed commitment to collaborate in this area. I also proposed prospective areas of mutual cooperation in the education sector.
We discussed on means of further cooperation in youth empowerment and sports sector including entrepreneurship development for our youth.
Sri Lanka is pleased to continue its assistance in enhancing the defence sector capabilities in Maldives through provision of training to the Maldivian National Defence Force personnel. We discussed on means of further collaboration in the defence sector.
Sharing our views on regional cooperation, I appreciated the support extended by Maldives to Sri Lanka, the current chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). We discussed the importance of IORA as a platform to promote peace, stability, and sustainable development in the Indian Ocean region within a framework of common values and goals.
I deeply appreciated the collaboration between Maldives and Sri Lanka in multilateral fora. Both our countries have consistently exchanged support at various international organizations and we committed to continue our cooperation with each other.
We expressed hope that this bilateral discussion be the guidance for our two sides to commence action-oriented work and build on to strengthen our multifaceted bilateral relations.
Your Excellency Abdulla Khaleel, I take this opportunity to thank you, and your delegation once again for visiting Sri Lanka and for all the cooperation that Maldives continues to extend to my country.
I like to conclude by reiterating that Sri Lanka attaches great importance to the continuous enhancement and deepening of cooperation with Maldives, which I have no doubt would be further consolidated in the years to come.
Thank You.
I now give the floor to Minister Abdulla Khaleel.
