UK-Sri Lanka foreign policy in the 21st century: embarking on a strategic diplomatic partnership

Pic courtesy of the Associated Press of Pakistan

By Srimal Fernando and Mizly Nizar 

Sri Lanka which inherently occupies a unique geostrategic position in the Indian Ocean sphere would require a new foreign policy course to achieve its diplomatic goals in the early 21st century. Even though Sri Lanka’s foreign policy focus has remained consistent for the past twenty years, the nation needs far-sighted external policy outreach going beyond its customary foreign policy partners. Recognising the new global realities in a changing landscape in the international arena, a small island state like Sri Lanka would require to refashion its foreign policy doctrine to strengthen its historic ties with the west. 

There is no doubt that the Portuguese, Dutch and the British left their economic and political imprint on the current inhabitants of the South Asian island nation. Aid, trade, investment and governance through democracy have been valued core traits of Western foreign policy priorities since Sri Lanka’s independence on 4 February 1948. In this context the British Ceylon experience of over a hundred years prior to independence provided the foundation for strong UK-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations in the coming decades. This unique relationship however, needs constant attention and nurturing to benefit both nations. The unfolding analysis gives an indication as to why both nations should elevate their current foreign policy status to a new strategic partnership positioning. 

After Sri Lanka then Ceylon became a self-governing dominion within the Commonwealth in 1948, the British footprint left behind consisted of a strong constitution, the Westminster style of governance, a home-grown economy and an independent foreign policy to face external challenges. These elements have continued to shape and reshape the country’s domestic and foreign policies in the past seven decades. From a political viewpoint, the Donoughmore and Soulbury commissions in the mid-1930s laid the groundwork to establish a multi-party political system. Immediately after independence the two mainstream political parties that governed Ceylon were widely opposed in their foreign policy direction. Hence, the aligning of the country’s external ties periodically shifted between either a pro-Western or pro-Eastern orientation. In the 1960s, during the Cold War between the Western and Eastern-led superpowers – the United States and the Soviet Union – Ceylon took on a neutral nonaligned approach in its foreign policy orientation.  In this backdrop, the year 1977 saw ground-breaking changes in Sri Lanka’s external outlook with the country choosing a solid Western foreign policy orientation while rebalancing stronger diplomatic ties with the UK. In 1981 there was tremendous boost to bilateral ties with the second visit of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth to the island nation. Three years later, in 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was in Sri Lanka for the ceremonial opening of the British-aided £113 million Victoria dam, built to generate much needed hydroelectricity for the country. The UK has since continued to provide development aid to Sri Lanka facilitating favourable economic conditions conducive to trade, tourism, and investment.

In addition to aid diplomacy, it is worth mentioning the vibrant commercial engagement between the two nations with trading ties dating back almost two centuries. Coffee, tea and rubber were commercial plantations introduced by the British in the 19th century that later became the main income-generating export crops in Ceylon’s post-independence era. Since then, Sri Lanka has expanded its export base while the UK has remained as one of its most important bilateral trading partners. Trade between the two countries has seen an upswing in the past two decades with bilateral trade increasing by 78% since the turn of the millennium. In 2018 alone bilateral trade figures stood at GBP 1,256 million. In addition to trade, UK has heavily invested across a wide range of sectors with a main focus on infrastructure, energy and technology. The UK currently remains among the top 10 investors in Sri Lanka with over a 100 British companies operating in the country. 

Besides trade and investments, the UK also plays an important role in Sri Lanka’s tourism sector, one of the biggest foreign income earners for the Indian Ocean island nation. Tourist arrivals from the UK have steadily increased over the years with 254,176 British tourists visiting Sri Lanka in 2018 alone, a 25% increase from the previous year. In fact, in April 2019, the UK was the largest source country of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka, while travellers from the UK accounted for 15% of total tourist arrivals in that month. 

Both UK and Sri Lanka could work further towards building on the political and economic bonds spanning over 100 years to accomplish resilient diplomatic relations in the future. From an analytical standpoint, Sri Lanka’s position in the Indian Ocean serving as a logistical trading and shipment hub for the region could be of strategic importance for the UK to access South Asia’s 1.6 billion consumer market. Sri Lanka’s regional trade agreements such as the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) and the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISLFTA) hold massive potential for the UK to tap into the South Asian market through the establishment of joint ventures in Sri Lanka and three-way trade relations between UK, Sri Lanka and the South Asian nations. 

Given the longstanding bonds, the 21st century could see UK – Sri Lanka diplomatic ties elevated to new heights of collaboration and co-operation reinforcing her Majesty the Queen’s statement during her visit to Sri Lanka “Britain and Sri Lanka have had a long association and stand together as equal, independent members of the Commonwealth.  We may be geographically far apart, but we are friends and shall remain so.”  

Srimal Fernando is a Doctoral Fellow at Jindal School of International Affairs (JSIA), India and a Global Editor of Diplomatic Society for South Africa. He won the 2018/2019 Best Journalist of the year award in South Africa. Mizly Nizar is a foreign policy analyst and a former visiting lecturer at The Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies and the Open University of Sri Lanka.