Sri Lanka, Switzerland commit to expanding trade relations and tourism

The 4th round of bilateral consultations between Sri Lanka and Switzerland took place on 05 April 2024 in Colombo, co-chaired by Ambassador Head of Asia Pacific at Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) Heinrich Schellenberg and Additional Secretary/Bilateral (West) of Foreign Affairs Ministry of Sri Lanka Yasoja Gunasekera.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the delegations have discussed the potential to further enhance economic relations.

Sri Lanka, appreciating the Swiss assistance extended to the Export Development Board (EDB) in identifying further markets for Sri Lankan exports, has proposed collaboration in the textile industry. The two countries agreed to work towards and to explore diversifying trade relations and further potential in the tourism sector.

The island nation also appreciated the long-standing Swiss support in the area of labour migration. Both sides acknowledged the positive impact of this collaboration in ensuring safe labour migration.

The meeting also considered collaboration on education, research and innovation, particularly exploring avenues for joint research and connectivity between universities. Opportunities to collaborate on Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability were also discussed.

Further, both sides agreed to hold the 5th round of the political consultations in Bern, Switzerland in 2026.  Bilateral political consultations between Sri Lanka and Switzerland were held pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Foreign Office Consultations signed in 2016.