Fourth round of Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Foreign Office Consultations concludes

THE fourth round of Foreign Office Consultations between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, led by the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries, successfully concluded in Colombo yesterday.

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Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Ministry Secretary Aruni Ranaraja co-chaired the consultations with Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam.

This round of consultations marked a continuation of Foreign Office Consultations between the two countries, with the third round having been held in Dhaka in 2017.

The Sri Lanka-Bangladesh Foreign Office Consultations served as a vital platform to review all aspects of bilateral cooperation and matters of mutual interest, while also exploring new avenues for collaboration across diverse sectors. Discussions covered bilateral, regional, and multilateral issues, encompassing areas including agriculture, education, health, trade, investment, digital economy, defence, connectivity, tourism, fisheries, youth affairs, culture, and people-to-people contacts.

Highlighting Sri Lanka’s substantial investments and diaspora presence in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka invited Bangladeshi investors to invest in development projects, logistics services, cultivation, and tourism-related businesses in Sri Lanka. Opportunities to expand collaboration in banking services were also discussed to contribute to financial stability and economic well-being.

Bangladesh invited further investments from Sri Lanka in its Export Processing Zones (EPZs), Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and API Industrial Parks, especially in high-potential sectors including pharmaceuticals, hospitality, tourism, automobiles and light engineering, ICT, renewable energy, agro-processing, leather, and footwear.