The Ambassador attended the 70th anniversary of Sri Lanka’s Independence Day celebration and held talks on current key issues of bilateral relations and their contractual arrangements with Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Tilak Marapana, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Mr Malik Samarawikram, Secretary to the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Wildlife Mr Douglas Nanayakkara and Secretary to the Ministry of Education Mr Sunil Hettiarachchi.
 

With the Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Samarawikram, the Ambassador signed an agreement on mutual cooperation between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade of Sri Lanka, which shall serve as a framework for closer contacts between the two Ministries in order to encourage further development of trade and investment flows.
 

During the visit, the Ambassador together with Secretary to the Ministry of Education Hettiarachchi, performed an act of the ceremonial handover of the Czech Republic's humanitarian aid project which was focused on restoration of an educational center for teachers, damaged by severe rain and floods in Akuressa in the South of Sri Lanka.

 

After returning to Delhi, the Ambassador said: “I consider the work visit to be very beneficial. It affirmed the unequivocal interest of the two countries in finding ways to unleash the untapped and promising potential that exists for the development of mutually beneficial cooperation. I believe that the Economic Agreement signed by me on behalf of the Minister of Industry and Trade will help achieving this goal. The current economic presence of the Czech Republic in Sri Lanka is limited to exports amounting to several million US dollars a year, which is completely inadequate with respect to the potential of the Czech exporters and the developmental needs of the island. People to people relations do also have a great potential. Last but not least, I can not fail to mention that the Czech Republic is a partner for Sri Lanka who has always been ready to help in difficult situations. This readiness became most evident in the past two years when Sri Lanka was repeatedly affected by large rainfall and landslides, and then the Czech authorities, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to these natural disasters with humanitarian aid amounting to CZK 5 million."