HON PRIME MINISTER’S MEDIA DIVISION

The fisheries sector has been an important part of the Sri Lanka — Norway bilateral relationship, and Norway is interested in further strengthening those ties through a number of projects in the fisheries and maritime sectors.

During a meeting with Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at Temple Trees yesterday (Aug. 27), Ambassador of Norway to Sri Lanka Trine Jøranli Eskedal spoke about the long-standing friendship between the two countries that started with cooperation in the fisheries sector.

Fisheries is the cornerstone of our bilateral relations,” Ambassador Eskedal said.

Noting the importance of the fisheries sector to Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Rajapaksa stressed the need to address the problem of bottom trawling that is destroying the marine environment.

Prime Minister Rajapaksa also conveyed to Ambassador Eskedal that the main priority for Sri Lanka now and during the post COVID-19 years will be economic development, with a specific focus on attracting investors who can now have more confidence in doing business in Sri Lanka following the stability achieved after the Presidential and General Elections.

Ambassador Eskedal commended the government for its swift and quick reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Congratulations on managing the election during COVID,” the Ambassador said. It was a very peaceful election and very well-managed with the challenges of COVID. Congratulations on your successful campaign.”

The two delegations further discussed a number of ongoing projects that has Norwegian involvement and several new projects that are being planned for future implementation.

We already have good bilateral relations; we want to strengthen that,” Ambassador Eskedal said. We want to confirm our commitment to Sri Lanka.”