Sri Lanka’s experience in eradicating the threat of the Sea Tigers could be of great use in fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean and providing security cover to vessels of the Gulf countries, says deputy foreign minister Neomal Perera.

The Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of External Affairs is in Muscat on an official visit from January 14 to 16, to strengthen bilateral ties between Sri Lanka and Oman.

In an interview with Oman Tribune, he said that since the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka had become a thing of the past, his government wanted to build strong ties with neighbouring countries and the GCC nations, which have a sizeable number of Lankan expatriates.

Perera, who held talks with the secretary-general and under secretary of foreign affairs, said that trade between both nations was one of the main points that were discussed. He stressed that Sri Lanka, which would sign an FTA agreement with China soon, had become a gateway to Southeast Asia for the Arab world.

“It is a very good opportunity for any country to use Sri Lanka as a stepping stone to export their commodities, invest or even re-export their goods to the region,” he explained.

With Sri Lanka importing a large quantity of oil from Oman, the trade balance was huge, said Perera. “So we are looking at investments in order to balance it. When it comes to inviting Omani investment to Sri Lanka, we are looking at sectors like hospitality, infrastructure and so on. There are many opportunities that can be utilised.”

Perera said his visit was also aimed at exploring the possibilities of maritime cooperation between the two nations, as Sri Lanka was the only country in the region with a port that could accommodate large vessels up to 16-metre draft.

“Today, Colombo is one of the few ports in the sea route to Southeast Asia that can berth large mother ships. So our nation can be a hub for Gulf countries like Oman to re-export to the region. They can send in their goods to Colombo and we can provide feeder vessel services to other countries in the region,” he said.

Another key area that came up for discussion was maritime security. The minister said that Sri Lanka’s experience in eradicating the threat of the Sea Tigers (the naval wing of the LTTE rebels) could be of great use in fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean and providing security cover to vessels of the Gulf countries.

Regarding the Lankan expatriates in the Sultanate, who amount to roughly over 20,000, Perera said he would be discussing the possibility of future agreements that would safeguard the interests of the expatriates.  “We will also look at the various avenues in this country where Sri Lanka can make a contribution in terms of human resources,” he said.

The minister also said that his government would encourage more cultural interaction between the two nations to promote harmony. “This year, we hope to see more Sri Lankan cultural troupes visiting Oman and Omani cultural groups visiting our country as well.”