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Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg concluded a two day visit to Sri Lanka this week, where she met with government officials and Tamil politicians, as part of moves to strengthen ties with the Sri Lankan government.
On arrival in Colombo Ms Solberg met with Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena where they discussed closer co-operation in the fields of “fisheries, information technology, energy, hydro and solar power and oil and gas exploration,” according to the President’s Media Division.
“The purpose of the meetings is to further consolidate the close relations between Sri Lanka and Norway through political dialogue, development-oriented cooperation and exchange of expertise, business cooperation, and support for the current Government’s policies of reform and reconciliation,” said the Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka.
During her trip, Ms Solberg also met with Tamil National Alliance leader R Sampanthan and parliamentarian M A Sumanthiran in Colombo. Issues of resettlement for displaced Tamils and the need to return lands in the North-East to civilians were discussed during the meeting, stated a TNA press release.
The Norwegian prime minister also addressed an audience in Colombo as part of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture, speaking on the topic of “sustainable peace and development at this prestigious institute”.
“Since independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has consistently shouldered international responsibilities,” said Ms Solberg, noting Sri Lanka’s controversial participation in UN peacekeeping missions. “These are crucial contributions not only to peace, but also to future prospects for development in countries seriously affected by conflict”.
The Sustainable Development Goals “are not just a means of fixing what is broken in our world; they will put the world on a new, sustainable path,” she added highlighting another area of potential co-operation between the two governments.
“For example, Sri Lanka and Norway could work together through our fisheries cooperation on sustainable use of marine resources (SDG 14),” she said. “We hope that the Norwegian funded research vessel Fridtjof Nansen will visit Sri Lankan waters next year to do a stock assessment.”
The move seems likely to go ahead next year, with Ms Solberg visiting the Mirissa Fishery Harbour as she concluded her trip to the island.