Sri Lanka and Vietnam to advance bilateral cooperation

Sri Lanka and Vietnam have reaffirmed the commitment to further consolidate and advance bilateral political and economic cooperation between the two nations. 

The Third Meeting of the Sri Lanka-Vietnam Political Consultations was held on Wednesday (11) in Colombo at senior official level.

The Sri Lanka delegation was led by Mr. Sumith Nakandala, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnam delegation was headed by Mr. Đặng Đình Quý, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam. 

A wide range of matters in the areas of mutual collaboration and ongoing programmes in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, education and training, trade and investment, culture and tourism were reviewed and discussed, the foreign ministry said. 

“The two sides stressed the importance of continuing to work together at regional and multilateral fora for advancing shared interests and on mutually important issues,” the statement said. 

The Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam also called on Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana on the afternoon of Wednesday.

A MoU between the Foreign Ministries of Sri Lanka and Vietnam, signed in October 2011 paved the way for enhancing bilateral cooperation through political consultations. 

The first and second meetings of Political Consultations between Sri Lanka and Vietnam were held in 2012 in Colombo and 2013 in Hanoi, respectively. Senior officials of the two Foreign Ministries and other line agencies also participated in the Meeting.