Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs commissions two patrol vessels provided via Rs. 2.3 b gra

State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Kazuyuki Nakane visited Sri Lanka from 28 to 30 August. During his stay, he participated in the Commissioning Ceremony of patrol vessels and held meetings with Sri Lankan government leaders in order to promote bilateral relationships between the two countries.  

The Commissioning Ceremony of the two patrol vessels provided by Grant Aid from the Government of Japan, valued at 1.8 billion yen (Rs. 2.3 billion) was held on 29 August at the Colombo Port. State Minister Nakane emphasised that Japan has been supporting the maritime safety of Sri Lanka in order to realise a free, open, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific Ocean. Japan hopes that these vessels will improve the capacity of maritime law enforcement by the Sri Lankan Coast Guard Agency. These patrol vessels were named SLCGS SamudraRakshaand SLCGS Samarakshaby the Coast Guard.

State Minister Nakane also called on Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and had meetings with Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs LakshmanKiriella, Minister of Plantation Industries Navin Dissanayake, and Secretary to the President Udaya Seneviratne. At these meetings, the State Minister exchanged views and ways to further consolidate the “Japan-Sri Lanka Comprehensive Partnership” in such areas as maritime security and development cooperation, including through a new G7 Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Partnerships Initiative. 

The G7 Initiative, which aims at accelerating positive change on gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls and respect for their human rights to achieving and sustaining peace through the WPS, was agreed at the recent G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in April, 2018 (https://g7.gc.ca/en/g7-presidency/themes/building-peaceful-secure-world/g7-ministerial-meeting/g7-foreign-ministers-joint-communique/g7-women-peace-security-partnerships-initiative/). 

State Minister Nakane appreciated the acceptance by the Government of Sri Lanka to partner with Japan to advance the WPS agenda and expressed Japan’s intention to support its efforts in cooperation with other G7 members.