SL, Russia to enhance defence and counterterrorism cooperation

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left) greets Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena

• Russian FM holds bilateral talks with SL counterpart
• Pledges arms and equipment to enhance SL military defence capacity
• Two countries to also expand counterterrorism cooperation
• To work towards achieving bilateral trade volume target of $ 700 m set in 2017 
• Agreed areas of cooperation to include fisheries, education, trade and investment, tourism, defence, renewable energy and oil exploration
• Tourism to be another important area of joint action as SL’s popularity as tourist destination among Russians grows
• Importance of maintaining stability and security in Indian Ocean region also discussed

By Chandani Kirinde

Sri Lanka and Russia yesterday agreed to enhance defence and counterterrorism cooperation, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov pledging to provide the arms and equipment that the Sri Lankan army needs to improve its defence capacity.

“I expressed satisfaction with the military operations going on to tackle security issues in the country and Russia stands ready to provide the arms and equipment that the Sri Lanka army needs to improve its defence capacity,” Lavrov said.

The Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, who arrived in the country on Monday, held bilateral discussions with Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, after which they briefed the media on the outcome of these talks.

During the discussions, the two sides reviewed programs and activities under bilateral defence cooperation. 

“The two sides recognised the threats posed by terrorism, violent extremism, illicit drug trafficking and other transnational organised crimes to national, regional and international security and agreed to continue our cooperation to pursue shared solutions and exchange best practices,” Gunawardena said.

He said defence cooperation between the two countries had been active and robust under the bilateral Military Cooperation Agreement which was signed in September 2018 in Moscow and the two countries would further expand counterterrorism cooperation through strengthened linkages between the relevant authorities in the respective countries.

The two sides also pledged to further expand bilateral economic engagement.

The Russian Foreign Minister said that in recent years Sri Lankan-Russian turnover had been floating around $ 400 million and this clearly did not reflect existing potential, which was also pointed out during talks between former President Maithripala Sirisena and President Vladimir Putin held in Moscow in 2017.

“The heads of our states set a target of increasing turnover to $ 700 million. In this respect, the Sri Lankan-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation is instrumental. It is its prerogative to elaborate on concrete measures,” he said.

Lavrov said one such measure could be diversifying Sri Lankan exports, which at present were dominated by just two items, tea and textile, which accounted for about 90% of the country’s trade.

“Russia is willing to offer Sri Lanka the products of its domestic industries, particularly the aircraft industry. Collaboration in the energy sector, as well as cooperation in agriculture and the introduction of advanced information and communication technologies, look quite promising,” he said.

He urged the Sri Lankan Government to send business delegations to the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which will be held in June as well as a similar forum in Vladivostok later this year so that they could speak with their Russian counterparts on how to enhance trade and attract more Russian investments into Sri Lanka.

“We are also satisfied with the work of the Russian-Lankan Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. Regular contacts between our parliaments and ministries, including defence ministries, serve to promote our relations in the interests of our nations,” Lavrov said.

Minister Gunawardena also emphasised the need to increase bilateral trade to meet the target volume of $ 700 million. 

“Our total bilateral trade turnover in 2018 was $ 388. 98 million. Russia is Sri Lanka’s 15th largest export destination and 24th largest import origin country,” Gunawardena stated.

He said the agreed areas of cooperation include agriculture and the food economy, fisheries, water management, education, including technical and vocational education, trade and investment, tourism, security and defence including counterterrorism, science and technology, renewable energy and oil exploration.

The two Foreign Ministers also spoke on growth in the tourism sector which they noted remained another important area of joint action, since Sri Lanka had become a popular tourist destination among Russians.

“There were 86,549 Russian arrivals in 2019 compared to 64,497 arrivals in 2018. Direct air connectivity facilitated by Aeroflot, which has commenced three flights a week, is generating significant two-way tourism,” Gunawardena said.

The two sides also discussed the increasing importance of the Indian Ocean region to global trade and commerce and stressed the importance of maintaining stability and security for the future development and prosperity of the region.

The two countries focused on the importance of their active engagement in regional organisations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and to continue cooperation and dialogue to pursue shared interests at the United Nations including the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Gunawardena revealed.