Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris called on Minister of Foreign Relations and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdulla Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on the sidelines of the 5th Indian Ocean Conference – IOC 2021 held in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Foreign Minister of UAE welcomed the Foreign Minister Prof. G. L. Peiris to U.A.E. and recalled the friendly relations that exist between the two countries over the decades.

Minister Peiris extended congratulations to the UAE Foreign Minister on the 50th Anniversary of the National Day of the UAE which falls on 2 December 2021. The Foreign Minister of the UAE emphasized the importance of enhancing friendly relations by high-level visits between the two countries and expressed his willingness to visit Sri Lanka in the course of next year. Foreign Minister Prof. Peiris mentioned that Minister Sheikh Abdullah would receive a very warm welcome in Sri Lanka.

Minister Peiris briefed his counterpart on the country’s situation with regard to the Covid-19 pandemic and the successful measures being implemented by the Government of Sri Lanka to control the spread of the virus. Minister Prof. Peiris said that Sri Lanka consistently appreciates the support of the UAE in multilateral fora, especially in the Human Rights Council and emphasized that Sri Lank cannot accept any intrusive external mechanisms when robust domestic mechanisms are vigorously moving forward.

Among the other topics discussed by the two Foreign Ministers were cooperation in the energy sector, enhanced employment opportunities for Sri Lankans in the UAE and increasing the volumes of investment by the UAE in commercial ventures in Sri Lanka.