ADDIS ABABA- Leaders of Ethiopia and Sir Lanka are giving importance to build strong partnership and explore new opportunities for cooperation in different arenas, the country’s ambassador said.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald, Ambassador K.K. Theshantha Kumarasiri stated that discussions are being held between leaders of the two countries and they give the importance of building partnership in areas of mutual benefit.
As part of the new foreign policy approach dubbed ‘Look Africa,’ Sri Lanka is keen to advance its relations with Africa while attaching due focus to Ethiopia.
According to Ambassador Kumarasiri, the leaders’ deliberation focused on developing partnership for trade and investment, prioritizing sectors including apparel and textile, manufacturing, tourism, agriculture, ICT, innovation, logistics, and construction. Such approach aims to create a wider Africa-centric partnership, particularly in blue economic initiatives.
There is also a political will from both sides to address common challenges like climate change and to join forces for shared aspirations including sustainable development, economic growth, energy, and security through South-South cooperation, he elaborated.
“We have a lot to learn from each other. As the representative of Sri Lanka, we need to foster the multifaceted relations with Ethiopia. We are going to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cultural cooperation which will help us expand our partnership, particularly in the literary sector, library documentation, film industry, photography and other related areas.”
Such dynamism will also help the two countries to be more connected and pave the way for further engagement in political and economic domains, he noted, adding that the collaboration is aimed at bridging the gap between the people, the business community and policymakers and more.
Mentioning the existence of two agreements with Ethiopia – one for political consultations and another for technical cooperation, Kumarasiri pointed out that several accords are in the pipeline in the fields of defense and energy as well as cultural exchange. There is also a potential for the two countries to set up joint ventures in agriculture and the plantation industry and Sri Lankan companies are particularly interested in those areas.
“We have proposed collaboration in the tea, rubber, wheat, and rice plantations and to forge collaboration in science, technology, and the energy sector. We have introduced seven Ethiopian companies to Sri Lankan partners with a focus on areas like the cosmetic industry and mining. We are also working on bolstering the connectivity between the two countries, with plans to sign a MoU for air services and potentially establish direct flights between Colombo and Addis Ababa.”
The ambassador further highlighted that expanding cooperation in trade, tourism, and digitalization is a priority for his country and Sri Lanka’s rich hospitality, emerging industry and tourism sector capabilities could be shared with Ethiopia, which is currently promoting its tourism and eco-tourism potential. “There is also a potential to collaborate in Ayurveda tourism and technology sharing.”
BY GIRMACHEW GASHAW
The Ethiopian Herald June 30/2024
