Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

A nine member Sri Lankan technical delegation led by the Chairman of Sri Lanka Tea Board, including the Director General of the Department of Agriculture joined with H. E. the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Russian Federation, had a fruitful discussion with the Head of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor), Deputy Head of Rosselkhoznadzor in charge of phytosanitary matters, and other officials of Rosselkhoznadzor on December 25, 2017.

Read more: Lifting of Temporary Restrictions on the Imports of Ceylon Tea and other Agricultural Products from Sri Lanka

The Board of Directors of the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) reselected Sri Lanka for its grant programme at its meeting on December 19. This will enable MCC to continue developing its compact programme with the government of Sri Lanka for which Sri Lanka was selected a year ago, in December 2016.

Read more: U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation Reselects Sri Lanka to Continue Grant Programme

Response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Media Queries on the Resolution on the ‘Status of Jerusalem’ adopted at the tenth emergency special session of the UN General Assembly on 21 December 2017

Sri Lanka voted in favour of the resolution titled ‘Status of Jerusalem’ submitted by Yemen and Turkey in their capacity as Chair of the Arab Group and Chair of the Summit of the Organisation of the Islamic Cooperation, respectively, at the tenth emergency special session of the UN General Assembly, on 21 December 2017. 

Read more: Response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Media Queries on the Resolution on the ‘Status of Jerusalem’ adopted at the tenth emergency special session of the UN General Assembly

Read more: Joint Statement Between Malaysia and Sri Lanka on the Occasion of the Official Visit of Honorable Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia to Sri Lanka

At the invitation of President Maithripala Sirisena, the Prime Minister of Malaysia Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak will undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka from 17-19 December 2017. The visit is of special significance in the context of the growing bilateral partnership between the two countries, and in the backdrop of Sri Lanka and Malaysia celebrating the 60^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Read more: Visit of the Prime Minister of Malaysia to Sri Lanka

“Sri Lanka is a country of smiling people, when you go there once, you want to go again and again”, reminiscenced a young Vietnamese entrepreneur, who attended the Sri Lanka Business Conclave themed “SRI LANKA: Hub of the Indian Ocean-The Land of Business Opportunities” on 30^th November 2017 at the Rex Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, having visited Sri Lanka recently. Yet another participant from the US, Ms. Sue McKinney, an attorney and a business consultant working and living in Viet Nam for over 20 years, was much vocal in sharing her fascination of Sri Lanka, especially noting her pleasant surprise when she received her visa within a few minutes of applying. 

Read more: Sri Lanka: A Land of Business Opportunities

Hon. Chairman,

I am delighted to begin my speech with the good news that today we received US$ 292 million as the first tranche of the Hambantota Port PPP joint venture. This is but the first step in realizing the true commercial value of the Port after 7 long years.

The joint venture PPP partnership with China Merchant Port Holdings (CMPH), a member of China Merchant Group which owns a network of 49 ports across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Mediterranean, will enable Hambantota Port to benefit from the broader trade and shipping network that CMPH will provide access to.

Read more: Third Reading of Budget 2018: Speech delivered by Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Finance and Media on 09th December 2017