Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Mangala Samaraweera, welcoming the US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs visit Sri Lanka, said that this year had been a “milestone year” in terms of US-Sri Lanka relations.
In a statement made after an evening of discussion with Ambassador Thomas Shannon, Mr Samaraweera said,
“I think it would be appropriate to say that Ambassador Shannon’s visit, combined with all the important visits that preceded, indicates the level of excellence that relations between our two countries have now reached.”
Detailing discussions topics of the discussions, Mr Samaraweera said ways of making the partnership between the two nations stronger were addressed, including enhancing “bilateral trade and investment; and maritime cooperation including Sri Lanka’s participation in the ’Our Oceans’ Conference.
The foreign minister’s statement read,
“Today we discussed and decided on the key areas on which this dialogue will be based, namely, Governance, Development cooperation and People-to-People ties; Economic Cooperation; Security Cooperation; and International and Regional Affairs. The four areas were decided upon after discussion with both the President and Prime Minister during the last few months, in the context of ways and means of developing the US-Sri Lanka relationship in line with the reform agenda of the Government and the requirements of the people of our country, ”
Mr Samaraweera further thanked US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Atul Keshap for strengthening US-Sri Lanka relations.
“At this point, I would also like to convey my appreciation to Ambassador Atul Keshap and his team in Colombo for all the tireless work that they do to make the bonds between our two countries grow stronger with each passing day.”
In a statement made after an evening of discussion with Ambassador Thomas Shannon, Mr Samaraweera said,
“I think it would be appropriate to say that Ambassador Shannon’s visit, combined with all the important visits that preceded, indicates the level of excellence that relations between our two countries have now reached.”
Detailing discussions topics of the discussions, Mr Samaraweera said ways of making the partnership between the two nations stronger were addressed, including enhancing “bilateral trade and investment; and maritime cooperation including Sri Lanka’s participation in the ’Our Oceans’ Conference.
The foreign minister’s statement read,
“Today we discussed and decided on the key areas on which this dialogue will be based, namely, Governance, Development cooperation and People-to-People ties; Economic Cooperation; Security Cooperation; and International and Regional Affairs. The four areas were decided upon after discussion with both the President and Prime Minister during the last few months, in the context of ways and means of developing the US-Sri Lanka relationship in line with the reform agenda of the Government and the requirements of the people of our country, ”
Mr Samaraweera further thanked US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Atul Keshap for strengthening US-Sri Lanka relations.
“At this point, I would also like to convey my appreciation to Ambassador Atul Keshap and his team in Colombo for all the tireless work that they do to make the bonds between our two countries grow stronger with each passing day.”