Sri Lanka and Georgia held the inaugural session of political consultations from 3-4 August at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo.
The inaugural political consultations were preceded by the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Political Consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and Georgia.
The consultations between the two countries served as the first formal process to comprehensively review the bilateral relationship of nearly 18 years since 1998.
The discussions broadly focused on bilateral trade and investment, and envisaged cooperation in the areas of culture, science and technology, education, agriculture, including tourism. Sri Lanka’s reconciliation process and shared issues of interest at the regional and multilateral fora, were also discussed.
In reaffirming the close ties of friendship between Sri Lanka and Georgia, both sides agreed to further build on the momentum generated through the first session of formal consultations, and follow-up on discussions, and regularly review progress.
The second session of Political Consultations will be held in Georgia in the second quarter of 2017.
Deputy Foreign Minister and Head of the Georgian delegation David Jalagania called on Sri Lanka’s Foreign Secretary Esala Weerakoon and discussed the status of Sri Lanka-Georgia bilateral relations and the way forward. The delegation also had a focused meeting with senior officials of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lanka delegation was led by Mrs. Grace Asirwatham, Additional Secretary (Economic Affairs and Trade, Middle East and Africa and West) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
David Jalagania was accompanied by officials of the Department for Asia, Africa, Australia and Pacific Rim of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia.
On the Sri Lankan side, representatives of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, Wayamba Development and Cultural Affairs, Higher Education and Highways, Tourism Development and Christian Religious Affairs, Department of Commerce, Board of Investment and Sri Lanka Export Development Board participated.
