Sri Lanka and Belarus discuss enhancement and reactivation of bilateral cooperation
Daily FT: Ambassador to Russia Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage, concurrently accredited to the Republic of Belarus, held a number of meetings with the Belarussian authorities during her official visit on 02-05 February.
In the framework of her stay in Minsk, the Ambassador presented her Letters of Credence to the Republic of Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko, had a conversation with the Foreign Affairs Minister Vladimir Makey, and gave an interview to the Belta News Agency on the prospects of cooperation.
Ambassador Liyanage was received by the Deputy Foreign Minister Nikolai Borisevich.
The two sides discussed the enhancement and reactivation of bilateral cooperation and spoke about the next sittings of Intergovernmental Commission and Political Consultation.
Having a large number of Sri Lankan students in the State Medical Universities of Belarus, the Ambassador met the Republic of Belarus Health Minister Dmitry Pinevich and the First Deputy Minister Elena Krotkova who is in charge of the medical education.
During the meeting, the two parties discussed the possibilities to expand cooperation in the sphere of medical education, including postgraduate programs, students and lecturers exchange, scientific and research collaboration.
The Pharmaceutical sector along with the implementation of agreement between the two Governments in the sphere of healthcare were also touched upon.
Ambassador Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage also held a meeting at the Belarussian Ministry of Education and discussed prospects for expanding the collaboration to engineering specialties, IT, agriculture, research etc., as well as introduction of joint programs and mutually beneficial projects.
Ambassador Liyanage visited the Republic of Belarus Sport and Tourism Deputy Minister and spoke about the ways to effectively develop inbound/outbound tourism of both countries.
In addition to that, the Ambassador held discussion with the Republic of Belarus Union of Tourism Organisations Head to understand the issues the tourism operators face in the current environment.
In the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ambassador was received by the First Deputy Minister Brylo.
Both sides agreed that there is great potential for expanding the import/export list of products, thus increasing the current trade turnover between Sri Lanka and Belarus.
In the Belarussian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the main directions of interaction between the business circles of the two countries, the organisation of presentations of trade and economic potential for business representatives of the Republic of Belarus were considered.
Ambassador Liyanage also visited the Minsk Tractor Works to explore the areas of cooperation in the field of agriculture and construction machinery.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka enjoys trade agreements and concessions with many foreign countries and is currently in the process of reviewing to further strengthen them while also looking at developing new trade relations with more foreign countries. With Sri Lanka’s ongoing development programme and the positioning of the country as a growing business destination in the South Asian region, the country’s economy is on a growth path with expanding business/investment opportunities. The country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the many trade agreements as well as concessions enjoyed by the country have added to Sri Lanka’s attraction as a growing business destination. Foreign businesses/investors could therefore explore the growing opportunities in Sri Lanka while also looking at the possibility of forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/24022022/Z_3 |