Japanese FM leads high level delegation to SL this week after 4-year lapse

In a major development, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi will undertake a 2-day official visit to Sri Lanka on 27 and 29 July. This marks the first ministerial visit from Tokyo to Colombo since 2019. 

The Harvard-educated senior politician from Japan is expected to engage in detailed discussions on the ongoing debt restructuring process, which is co-chaired by the Japanese government, and several areas of bilateral cooperation as a follow-up to the visit of President Ranil Wickramasinghe to Tokyo two months earlier.

Maintaining the momentum of the President’s visit to Japan, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Japan, Rodney Perera, engaged Hayashi pursuant to a personal invitation extended by the Japanese Foreign Minister to visit Akita Prefecture. 

In interactions held with the Minister as well as senior officials of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Perera convinced the Japanese side of the importance of a high level visit from Japan to Sri Lanka in order to explore potential projects under the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) signed between the two countries several months ago, renewable energy, maritime cooperation and mutual efforts to heighten private sector tie ups as important areas under the growing bilateral agenda.

The tour of the Japanese Foreign Minister, with a delegation of over 20, is also the first high level visit from a country outside the South Asian region since last year, and is expected to enhance the scope of relations between Sri Lanka and Japan. 

Sources said calls on President Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and bilateral consultations with the Foreign Minister Ali Sabry are expected to be in the program for the visit.