Norwegian Foreign Minister in town tomorrow

Norway’s Foreign Affairs Minister Børge Brende will arrive in Sri Lanka tomorrow (7) to hold high level discussions to explore possible areas of cooperation between the two countries, including trade and investment opportunities.

Brende, will be the first Norwegian minister to visit Sri Lanka since 2006, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, according to the AFP news agency.

“The aim of the visit to Colombo is to re-establish political contact with Sri Lanka,” Brende said, adding: “The recent political developments in the country in the past year have made this possible.” 

During his visit, Brende is scheduled to meet with President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and the new opposition leader, Tamil lawmaker R. Sampanthan.

The Norwegian Minister will also take part in a discussion organised by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and the Norwegian Embassy in Sri Lanka tomorrow at Chamber premises.

Brende, who was the Former Managing Director of the World Economic Forum and also the Former Minister of Trade and Industry in Norway will meet the Sri Lankan business community and any other interested parties during the discussion.

The visit comes following an interest shown by Norwegians in investing in Sri Lanka, which was expressed at the recently held Sri Lanka - Norway Business Forum in Colombo.