Sri Lanka and Poland pledge to enhance connectivity and economic cooperation

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake and Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Maciej Lang exchanging the signed text of the MoU on the Establishment of a Political Consultations Mechanism between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland

Polish and Sri Lankan delegations at the bilateral consultations

State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake and Deputy Foreign Minister of Poland Maciej Lang signing the MoU on the Establishment of a Political Consultations Mechanism between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland at the commencement of the bilateral consultations on 6 November 

The second session of political consultations between Sri Lanka and Poland was successfully held on Wednesday, 6 November at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombo. The delegations of Sri Lanka and Poland were led by the State Minister of Foreign Affairs Vasantha Senanayake, and Deputy Foreign Minister Maciej Lang respectively. 

Underscoring the consolidation of bilateral relations, the two dignitaries signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of a Political Consultations Mechanism between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland at the commencement of the talks. 

The two sides discussed matters of bilateral interest, focusing on economic cooperation and ongoing programs, and identified new areas of cooperation in the maritime, tourism, agriculture, green technology and defence sectors.

Demonstrating the keenness of both sides to revitalise and expand bilateral trade, connectivity and public diplomacy, several events were organised in Colombo to coincide with the visit of Deputy Foreign Minister Lang. These included the inauguration of the first ever thrice weekly direct service from Warsaw to Colombo by the Polish national carrier, LOT Polish Airlines (4 November), the Poland-Sri Lanka Business Forum organised by the National Chamber of Commerce of Poland (KIG) and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (5 November), signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) and the Polish Chamber of Commerce (KIG) and the Conference on ‘Discovering Central Europe and the Asia-Pacific’ organised by the Universities of Colombo and Warsaw at the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Colombo (6 November). 

State Minister Vasantha Senanayake, underlining the importance of the bilateral engagement with Poland, spanning 62 years of diplomatic relations, reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s commitment to transform the relationship into a dynamic, multi-faceted and result-oriented partnership. The Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Lang, in turn reiterated his Government’s keenness to further consolidate bilateral economic cooperation for mutually beneficial outcomes. The two sides also focused on working together to promote shared interests at regional and multilateral fora. 

Associated with the State Minister of Foreign Affairs at the bilateral consultations were officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Poland, C.A.H.M. Wijeratne and officials of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB) and the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), while the Polish Deputy Minister was assisted by the Ambassador of Poland in New Delhi, concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka, Adam Burakowski and officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland.