Foreign Relations Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and UK Minister for International Trade Ranil Jayawardena yesterday via a teleconference discussed stepping up bilateral trade and investment and expanding the areas of cooperation. 

The Foreign Ministry said it was the first official interaction between the two Ministers. 

Both Ministers welcomed further consolidating the longstanding bilateral engagement through increased trade, security, research and training, science and technology, and cultural cooperation, including people-to-people contacts.  

In particular, Ministers Gunawardena and Jayawardena agreed on the need for close cooperation to address the challenges facing bilateral trade and investment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both identified the importance of moving the supply chains and opening travel and tourism sectors to address pressing economic issues. Opportunities for new export products to the UK market from Sri Lanka were also discussed. 

Recalling the shared values and interests between the UK and Sri Lanka as members of the Commonwealth, Minister Gunawardena reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to continue its active participation in the organisation.   

Foreign Relations Minister Gunawardena extended an invitation for Minister Ranil Jayawardena to visit Sri Lanka at the earliest opportunity.

According to the Central Bank, the UK is the second largest market for Sri Lanka accounting for 8.4% of Sri Lanka’s exports in 2019. Export earnings from the UK increased in 2019 by 1.8% to $ 998 million. However, imports from UK are only 1.9% or $ 369 of total.

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