A significant meeting was held between the Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Mr. Ramalingam Chandrasekar, and the French Ambassador to Sri Lanka, H.E. Rémi Lambert, at the Minister’s Office on 08th of July.
During the meeting, they discussed on various measures to develop the fishing industry in Sri Lanka and strengthening of the existing cooperation.
A key element of the discussion was the recent official visit to France by a Sri Lankan delegation including the Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries, Dr. B. K. Kolitha Kamal Jinadasa. During the visit, discussions were held with the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement - AFD), a public financial institution owned by the French Government, on the development of harbours. Specially, attention was drawn to the possible support from AFD for the development of the four main fishery harbours of Galle, Beruwala, Puranawella and Kudawella. French Ambassador Lambert discussed the matter at length with Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekar and assured that the project would be taken forward expeditiously after receiving the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Sri Lanka).
Minister Chandrasekar briefed the French Ambassador on the efforts of the current government to restore stability and direct the country towards a development path after the massive collapse that the country had experienced during its 76-year reign. He also mentioned that the country, which had become bankrupt in 2022, is now gradually improving. In response, Ambassador Lambert emphasized the full support of France for debt restructuring efforts of Sri Lanka. He recalled the agreement reached during the debt restructuring negotiations and pointed out that France was among the first countries to support these restructuring initiatives.
Dr. B. K. Kolitha Kamal Jinadasa, Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, who joined the meeting, requested France to share its advanced and modern boat manufacturing technology with Sri Lanka to expand the boat manufacturing sector in Sri Lanka. Even the French Ambassador responded positively regarding this matter.
Minister Chandrasekar further requested the support and assistance of France in developing fishing industry, resolving existing problems, preventing damage occurred to ocean resources through prohibited fishing methods and promoting a sustainable fishing industry in Sri Lanka.
During the meeting, the Ambassador was informed that the Cabinet of Ministers had approved the first phase of the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies prepared by the World Trade Organization (WTO). This agreement intends to ensure the sustainability of the fisheries sector by preventing the impacts of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and overfishing. The approval was given as per the Cabinet Memorandum which has been jointly submitted to the Cabinet by the Minister of Fisheries and the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development. The Government of Sri Lanka has agreed to the first phase of this agreement and it is scheduled to inform the World Trade Organization (WTO) through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The event was also attended by Commander Jean-Baptiste Trouche (Maritime Security and Safety Cooperant), Ms. Hema Ramachandran (Deputy Economic Counsellor), and Ms. Dinusha Ileperuma (Press Attaché and translator) from the French Embassy.
