A special official meeting was held yesterday (10) between the Maldivian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, H.E. Masood Imad, and the Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Ramalingam Chandrasekhar, at the Parliament Complex. The Secretary to the Ministry, Dr. B. K. Kolitha Kamal Jinadasa, also joined the occasion.
The main focus of the meeting was on the Maldivian President’s upcoming official visit to Sri Lanka next month, and there were extensive discussions on new opportunities for cooperation between the fisheries sectors of the two countries in parallel with the visit.
The Minister, who expressed his views on the exchange of experiences related to the fisheries industry of the two countries, pointed out the possibility of introducing new products to the market by combining the fresh fish resources of the Maldives and the currently developing canned fish industry of Sri Lanka. Both sides expressed strong interest in processing and manufacturing value-added fish products in Sri Lanka, especially targeting the Maldivian market.
Currently, certain products with the "Made in Sri Lanka" label are exported to the Maldives through the Dubai market, and special attention was paid to developing a method to obtain these products directly from Sri Lanka to the Maldives without intermediaries. Minister Ramalingam Chandrasekhar emphasized that this will bring high economic benefits to both countries.
