Sri Lanka looking at enhancing ties with Uzbekistan
A delegation of the Sri Lankan Embassy to the Republic of Uzbekistan headed by Ambassador Prof. M.D. Lamawansa had recently engaged in a four day tour in the country holding a number of high-level meetings in the Ministries in Tashkent.
Accordingly, Ambassador Prof. Lamawansa had reportedly held a fruitful discussion with Republic of Uzbekistan Deputy Foreign Minister Sidikov Furkhat.
During the conversation, topical issues of the development of Sri Lanka-Uzbekistan relations of friendship both in bilateral and international arena, as well as potential areas for strengthening interaction between the two countries had been discussed.
The meeting was also attended by the Head of Foreign Ministry Directorate overseeing the countries of South Asia, Middle East and Africa Eshonov and the Head of South Asia Division Sharipov from the Uzbekistan side and First Secretary Nirosha Herath and Personal Assistant to the Ambassador Olessya Romanova from the Embassy side.
At the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialised Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Ambassador Prof. M.D. Lamawansa was received by International Cooperation Director Deputy Minister Uzokboy Begimkulov Department and colleagues from the State Tashkent University of Oriental Studies, local media report stated.
The parties had briefed each other on the education systems in both countries and discussed the prospects for collaboration in the area of vocational training, short-term courses, establishing links between universities, and joint research projects.
The Ambassador had also called on Investment and Foreign Trade Deputy Minister Kudratov.
Both sides had emphasised the unutilised potential to enhance collaboration in various spheres, including trade, agriculture, technology and investment.
The Embassy delegation had further visited the newly established Ministry of Tourism and Sports and had a substantive discussion with International Affairs and Protocol Department Head Nadira Berdimuratova, and Marketing Department Chief and leading Tour Operators of Uzbekistan Aziz Mirdjalilov. Matters pertaining to potential in expanding both inbound and outbound tourism of both countries as well as promotion of cultural and religious tourism had been discussed during this meeting.
The Ambassador and his team had also held a discussion with the Deputy Chair of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan where the parties had underlined the importance of establishing links between the Chambers of Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan to open more opportunities for business sectors of both countries.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka is in the process of expanding bilateral, trade and investment with foreign countries. Sri Lanka is fast becoming a business hub in the South Asian region given its geographical positioning in the Indian ocean and the many trade agreements as well as trade concessions enjoyed by the country. Given Sri Lanka’s trade ties with many foreign nations, businesses/investors could confidently set up base in Sri Lanka to engage with countries in the Asian and South Asian regions using the preferential treatment enjoyed by the island.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20210505/Z_4 |