The inaugural Sri Lanka-Kyrgyz Republic Foreign Office consultations have successfully concluded in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 15 April.

Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka Aruni Wijewardane and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Avazbek Atakhanov co-chaired the consultations.

The consultations are part of Sri Lanka’s initiative to strengthen bilateral ties with the countries of the Central Asia region.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Bilateral Cooperation was signed between the two Foreign Ministries. Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations with the Kyrgyz Republic in 1996, and this is the first high-level visit to take place between the two countries.

During the official talks, the two sides prioritized expanding economic cooperation, focusing on apparel, gems and jewellery, tea, food and beverages, wellness and ayurvedic products, education services and ICT sectors

The two sides also discussed the potential for the promotion of tourism to facilitate connectivity and to strengthen people-to-people linkages.

Cooperation at multilateral and regional fora and developments in the respective regions and current global issues were among the other areas taken up for discussion.

Foreign Secretary Wijewardane also met with the Vice President and members of the Kyrgyz Chambers of Commerce and agreed on an inaugural meeting between the two Chambers to be convened virtually to strengthen trade and investment connections.