High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda met with the Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India (EAC-PM) Dr. Bibek Debroy today at the latter’s office in New Delhi and had an exchange of views. 

The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) is an independent body constituted to give advice on economic and related issues to the Government of India, specifically to the Prime Minister. 

During the discussion, the Chairman of the EAC-PM briefed High Commissioner Moragoda on the mandate and the functions of the Council. High Commissioner Moragoda stressed the importance of economic integration between Sri Lanka and India, and inquired as to how the Council could assist in that process.

In response, Chairman Debroy extended an invitation to High Commissioner Moragoda to address the Council on a mutually convenient date on matters pertaining to economic integration and cooperation, which the High Commissioner accepted. 

Post Covid supply chain resilience as well as trade and investment were among other issues that were discussed at the meeting. 

Dr. Bibek Debroy is an internationally renowned economist and has held many high posts in the government. He is a prolific writer who has translated a number of ancient Indian classics into English, including the Bhagavad Gita. He has also served in the ‘High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor’, an independent international organization hosted by the United Nations Development Programme from 2005-2008, of which High Commissioner Moragoda was a member. 

1. The requirement to produce Covid-19 Vaccination Certificate by any person arriving in Sri Lanka via any airport or seaport is  hereby removed.

2. The requirement to produce a pre-boarding or on-arrival negative Covid-19 test (PCR/RAT) by any person arriving in Sri Lanka via  any airport or seaport is hereby removed.

3. If foreign nationals/tourists become Covid-19 positive after arriving in Sri Lanka, they should isolate for 7 days in a private hospital/hotel/place of residence. The cost of treatment/isolation should be borne by foreign nationals/tourists.

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India, Milinda Moragoda met with the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister of India Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman today (06) at the latter’s office in North Block, New Delhi.

This was the latest of a series of meetings High Commissioner Moragoda has had with Minister Sitharaman since November last year on Indian economic cooperation and assistance to Sri Lanka in the context of the present crisis.

At the outset, High Commissioner Moragoda briefed Minister Sitharaman on Sri Lanka’s ongoing discussions with the International Monetary Fund and the present status of the country’s debt restructuring process. He also briefed her on the drastic impact the present economic contraction is having on the poor and vulnerable segments of the population of Sri Lanka. 

The High Commissioner once again thanked Minister Sitharaman for the unprecedented emergency assistance that India has extended to Sri Lanka and her personal interventions with bilateral and multilateral partners throughout this challenging and difficult period.

High Commissioner Moragoda and Minister Sitharaman also reviewed the status of bilateral economic cooperation, and the High Commissioner emphasized that India could play a critical role in Sri Lanka’s economic revival through multi-faceted economic integration between the two countries by enhancing investments, tourism and trade.  

As a part of the High Commission’s roadmap to enhance the engagement with the concurrently accredited Diplomatic Missions based in New Delhi, Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda had an interactive session with the envoys of Middle East, Central Asia and Southeast Asian diplomatic missions today (2) at the High Commission premises. The Heads of Mission of Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, DPR Korea, Mongolia, Syria, Tajikistan, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan and Fiji attended this interactive session. 

The objective of the engagement was to deepen Sri Lanka’s bilateral relations with the countries concerned and to explore the new areas for cooperation. High Commissioner Moragoda welcomed the group of 11 envoys and assured Sri Lanka’s readiness to work with them closely. He briefed them on the recent economic and political developments in the country and thanked the international community for the assistance and encouragement that have been provided during the difficult period. He stated that trade, investment and tourism are the three key sectors that could assist in economic revival of Sri Lanka. The discussion also focused on fisheries, connectivity and people-to-people contacts. 

He further informed that Sri Lanka would celebrate its 75th anniversary of Independence February next year and encouraged the participation of the diplomatic representations at the celebrations scheduled to be held on 04th February 2023 in Colombo. He also added that a Credential Ceremony for the newly appointed High Commissioners/Ambassadors is also being arranged around the same period. 

Today’s session is the seventh engagement that High Commissioner Moragoda has had with the envoys of the New Delhi based diplomatic representations who are concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka. On earlier occasions he had engagements with the envoys from European, Latin American & the Caribbean and African regions. 

The High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi functions as the main coordinating point between the concurrently accredited 94 Foreign Missions and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka.