Sri Lanka and Belarus enhance bilateral cooperation

Ambassador to Russia Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage, concurrently accredited to the Republic of Belarus, held a number of meeting with the Belarussian authorities during her official visit on 02-05 February.

In the framework of her stay in Minsk, the Ambassador presented her Letters of Credence to the Republic of Belarus President Aleksander Lukashenko, had a conversation with the Foreign Affairs Minister Vladimir Makey, and gave an interview to the Belta News Agency on the prospects of cooperation.

Ambassador Liyanage was received by the Deputy Foreign Minister Nikolai Borisevich. 

The two sides discussed the enhancement and reactivation of bilateral cooperation and spoke about the next sittings of Intergovernmental Commission and Political Consultation.

Having a large number of Sri Lankan students in the State Medical Universities of Belarus, the Ambassador met the Republic of Belarus Health Minister Dmitry Pinevich and the First Deputy Minister Elena Krotkova who is in charge of the medical education.

During the meeting, the two parties discussed the possibilities to expand cooperation in the sphere of medical education, including postgraduate programs, students and lecturers exchange, scientific and research collaboration. 

Pharmaceutical sector along with the implementation of agreement between the two Governments in the sphere of healthcare were also touched upon.

Ambassador Prof. Janitha A. Liyanage also held a meeting at the Belarussian Ministry of Education and discussed prospects for expanding the collaboration to engineering specialties, IT, agriculture, research etc., as well as introduction of joint programs and mutually beneficial projects.

Ambassador Liyanage visited the Republic of Belarus Sport and Tourism Deputy Minister and spoke about the ways to effectively develop inbound/outbound tourism of both countries.

In addition to that, the Ambassador held discussion with the Republic of Belarus Union of Tourism Organisations Head to understand the issues the tourism operators face in the current environment.

In the Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Ambassador was received by the First Deputy Minister Brylo. 

Both sides agreed that there is great potential for expanding the import/export list of products, thus increasing the current trade turnover between Sri Lanka and Belarus.

In the Belarussian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the main directions of interaction between the business circles of the two countries, the organisation of presentations of trade and economic potential for business representatives of the Republic of Belarus were considered.

Ambassador Liyanage also visited the Minsk Tractor Works to explore the areas of cooperation in the field of agriculture and construction machinery.