Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera welcomed a decision by the European Union to lift a ban on fishing exports from the island, stating that his government had taken “immediate measures” to revoke the ban since coming into power.
"The lifting of the red card will allow Sri Lanka to resume fish exports to the EU's 28 member countries,” said Mr Samaraweera, noting that EU markets “accounted for 68 percent of Sri Lanka's fish exports, amounting to 108 million dollars”.
“The new government, elected on the 8th of January 2015, took immediate measures to fulfil its manifesto commitment found at Point 65 of President Sirisena’s 100 Day Work Programme,” he added.
Highlighting the speed at which the government acted, Mr Samaraweera noted that “on the 13th of January, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe wrote to the EU High Representative on Foreign Affairs, Fredrica Moghernini, requesting that the EU and Sri Lanka work together to address the issues which initiated the process for lifting the ban”.
"The EU's recommendation to lift the ban is the culmination of this process,” he concluded.
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