Foreign relations of Sri Lanka

Foreign relations of Sri Lanka refers to the diplomatic and commercial relations between Sri Lanka and other countries. Sri Lanka has stressed its principle of "friendship towards all, enmity towards none" in its diplomacy.

Since the 1950s, Sri Lanka has followed a non-aligned foreign policy, which does not take sides with major powers. Since the end of the Cold War in Asia, the country has pursued better relations with all major powers and seeks to strengthen its diplomatic, economic and military ties with China, India, Pakistan, Russia, the United States, Japan, South Korea and the European Union. Sri Lanka has also forged close ties with the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), African Union and Arab League.

Sri Lanka participates in multilateral diplomacy, particularly at the United Nations, where it seeks to promote sovereignty, independence, and development in the developing world. Sri Lanka was a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). It also is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (as dialogue partner) and the Colombo Plan. Sri Lanka continues its active participation in the NAM, while also stressing the importance it places on regionalism by playing a strong role in SAARC.thumb|Sri Lanka Ambassador to the European Union Grace Asirwatham.

History

The goal of Sri Lanka's foreign policy is to maintain a strong, independent, powerful and unitary Sri Lanka, whose foreign policy establishment maintains it in achieving that goal.

Sri Lanka's foreign policy has been founded in the national interest. In a period of rapid and continuing change, foreign policy can respond optimally to new challenges and opportunities. It has to be an integral part of the larger effort of building the nation's capabilities through economic development, strengthening social fabric and well-being of the people and protecting Sri Lanka's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Sri Lanka's foreign policy is a forward-looking engagement with the rest of the world, based on a rigorous, realistic and contemporary assessment of the bilateral, regional and global geo-political and economic milieu.

Military

The Sri Lanka Armed Forces are the overall unified military of Sri Lanka and encompass the Sri Lanka Army, Navy, and Air Force, which come under the Ministry of Defence (MOD). They receive military support mainly from China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Israel. The United States also gives limited support.

Diplomatic relations

Following is a list of countries Sri Lanka maintains diplomatic relations with:

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|73

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|76

|—

|77

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|86

|87

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|93

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|97

|—

|98

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|107

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|111

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|158

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|177

Sri Lanka is accredited to Mexico from its embassy in Washington, DC, United States, and maintains an honorary consulate in Mexico City.

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|||23 October 1948||See Sri Lanka–United States relations

thumb|President [[J. R. Jayewardene|Jayewardene of Sri Lanka presents a baby elephant to President Reagan and the American people in 1984]]

The US Embassy in Sri Lanka is located in Colombo, as are the US Agency for International Development offices and Public Affairs offices. IBB offices are located near Chilaw, 75 km north of Colombo.
Sri Lankan Embassy is located in Washington, DC.

Asia

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; margin:auto;"

! style="width:15%;"| Country

! style="width:12%;"| Formal Relations Began

!Notes

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|||12 February 1992||See Foreign relations of Armenia

Armenia is accredited to Sri Lanka from its embassy in New Delhi, India.
Sri Lanka is accredited to Armenia from its embassy in Moscow, Russia.
Bhutan has an honorary consulate in Colombo.

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|||7 February 1957||See China–Sri Lanka relations

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|||4 February 1948||See India–Sri Lanka relations

Bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and India have been generally friendly but were affected by the Sri Lankan civil war and by the failure of the Indian Peace Keeping Force during the civil war. India is Sri Lanka's only neighbour, separated by the Palk Strait. Both nations occupy a strategic position in South Asia and have sought to build a common security umbrella in the Indian Ocean.

Relations between India and Sri Lanka relations have undergone a qualitative and quantitative transformation in the recent past. Political relations are close, trade and investments have increased dramatically, infrastructural linkages are constantly being augmented, defence collaboration has increased and there is a general, broad-based improvement across all sectors of bilateral cooperation. India was the first country to respond to Sri Lanka's request for assistance after the tsunami in December 2004. In July 2006, India evacuated 430 Sri Lankan nationals from Lebanon, first to Cyprus by Indian Navy ships and then to Delhi & Colombo by special Air India flights.

There exists a broad consensus within the Sri Lankan polity on the primacy of India in Sri Lanka's external relations matrix. Both major political parties in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and the United Nationalist Party, have contributed to the rapid development of bilateral relations in the last ten years. Sri Lanka has supported India's candidature to the permanent membership of the UN Security

Council.

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|||6 August 1952||See Indonesia–Sri Lanka relations

Indonesia has an embassy in Colombo.
Sri Lanka has an embassy in Jakarta.

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|||1961||See Iran–Sri Lanka relations

Iran and Sri Lanka have had official diplomatic relations since 1961.

Diplomatic relations between Iran and Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon) began in 1961 via the Ceylonese embassy in Islamabad, which was the closest Ceylon had to a presence on Iranian soil until the opening of the Tehran embassy office in 1990. Tehran set up its Colombo office in 1975.

After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became President of Iran, Sri Lanka was the first country he visited on his inaugural Asian tour. Mahinda Rajapaksa also made ties with Iran a priority after he ascended to office.

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|||22 February 1961||See Sri Lanka–Iraq relations

Sri Lanka has an embassy in Baghdad
Iraq has an embassy in Colombo.

Iraq was the largest buyer of Sri Lankan tea during the reign of Saddam Hussein. Ties between Sri Lanka and Iraq were disrupted during the Iraq War. However, in 2018 Iraq re-emerged as the largest buyer of Sri Lankan Tea.

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|||1 June 1956||See Israel–Sri Lanka relations

Sri Lanka has a close relationship with Israel, and its military is a major user of Israeli weapons systems that include the IAI Kfir Fighter Jet, the Super Dvora Mk III class Patrol Vessel, and the Gabriel missile. In May 2011, the Israeli Minister of Agriculture visited Sri Lanka with an agro-business delegation to promote cooperation between the two countries.

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|||28 April 1952||See Japan – Sri Lanka relations

During the Second World War, an air raid was carried out by Japan to bomb the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. Later, relations between Japan and Sri Lanka became friendly, and they established official relations in 1952.

Japan has an embassy in Colombo. Sri Lanka has an embassy in Tokyo. Sri Lankan President JR Jayawardene played a major role in re-admitting Japan to the world community at the San Francisco Conference

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|||October 1957||See Malaysia–Sri Lanka relations

Malaysia has a high commission in Colombo, and Sri Lanka has a high commission in Kuala Lumpur.

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|||26 July 1965||See Maldives–Sri Lanka relations

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|||1 July 1957||Foreign relations of Nepal

Nepal and Sri Lanka established diplomatic relations on 1 July 1957. Nepal opened an honorary consulate general in Colombo in 1975 and established its embassy in 1995. Sri Lanka has a residential embassy in Kathmandu since 1993. Around sixty thousand Sri Lankans visit Lumbini annually to pay homage to Gautam Buddha's birthplace Lumbini, so Government of Sri Lanka has built a rest house and constructed a Buddhist monastery complex in Lumbini.

Following the April 2015 Nepal earthquake, Sri Lanka was one of the first three countries to send medical and search-and-rescue teams to the country. The Sri Lanka Air Force|Aiorce sent flights of C-130 Hercules aircraft, and SriLankan Airlines sent Airbus A330 aircraft, carrying Sri Lanka Army emergency teams.

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|||May 1948||See Pakistan–Sri Lanka relations

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|||April 1982||See Palestine–Sri Lanka relations

Palestine has very close ties to Sri Lanka.Sri Lanka has made monetary donations to Palestine on various occasions. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena also assured that Sri Lanka is committed to stand by the struggle for independence of the Palestinian people. There is an embassy for the state of Palestine in Colombo.

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|||17 April 1958||See Philippines–Sri Lanka relations

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|||14 November 1977||

see South Korea–Sri Lanka relations

Diplomatic relations between both nations were established on 14 November 1977. South Korean investments in Sri Lanka (cumulative total at the end of June 2014) total $731 million. The Republic of Korea has an embassy in Colombo. Sri Lanka has an embassy in Seoul.

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|||September 1958||See Sri Lanka–Turkey relations

Sri Lanka has an embassy in Ankara.
Turkey has an embassy in Colombo.
Both countries established diplomatic relations on 14 February 1997.

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|||March 1981||

Cyprus is accredited to Sri Lanka by its High Commission in New Delhi, India and an honorary consulate in Colombo. and an honorary consulate in Larnaca.
Both countries are full members of Commonwealth of Nations.

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|||28 December 1957 and 15 February 1993||

Historically, relations between the Czech Republic and Sri Lanka have been good, with foundations to build upon in strengthening bilateral cooperation.
There have been state visits by both sides.
The Czech Republic has a consulate in Colombo.
In 2000 Czech Republic provided RM-70 multiple rocket launchers for Sri Lanka Army.

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|||5 January 1953||See Denmark–Sri Lanka relations

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|||31 January 1996||See Estonia–Sri Lanka relations

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|||9 December 1953||See Germany–Sri Lanka relations

Germany has an embassy in Colombo.
Sri Lanka has an embassy in Berlin.

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|||1957||

Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1957.
Greece is accredited to Sri Lanka from its embassy in New Delhi, India.
Sri Lanka is accredited to Greece from its embassy in Rome, Italy. and has a consul in Budapest
Hungary maintains a consulate in Colombo.
Relations are low-keyed, but there are no outstanding issues. Hungary contributed to relief after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and has since stepped up aid to Sri Lanka.

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|||15 September 1957||See Romania–Sri Lanka relations

The Romanian Ambassador in New Delhi is concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka, and the Sri Lanka Mission in Warsaw, Poland, is concurrently accredited to Romania. The President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga characterized relations between the two countries in 2003 as "close and friendly".

Diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Romania were established on 15 September 1957. They werre initially maintained at Legation level but were raised to ambassadorial level in 1967. In 1963, Romania opened a commercial office in Colombo, which was upgraded to as embassy in 1976 with a chargé d'affaires. The Romanian Mission in Colombo was closed in 1995 but reopened as a commercial office in 1998.

In 1978, the Sri Lankan minister of Foreign Affairs visited Romania.

The ambassador designate of Sri Lanka in Bucharest was Clarence Felician Chinniah

In December 2009, Valerica Epure presented her credentials to President Mahinda Rajapaksa to become Ambassador-Designate of Romania to Sri Lanka.

In December 2009, with the end of the civil war in Sri Lanka, 46 Sri Lankan Tamil refugees were sent to Romania to be processed for resettlement from Indonesia on their way to Australia.

Bilateral trade between Sri Lanka and Romania was valued at US$8.87 million in 2007, up from US$7.9 million in 2006. Efforts have been made to expand trade in Ceylon tea to Romania. In 2009, the chairman and CEO of the Sri Lanka Export Development Board, Anil Koswatte, singled out Romania as country to which exports could be increased.

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|||19 February 1957||See Russia–Sri Lanka relations

thumb|President [[Mahinda Rajapaksa with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, at St. Petersburg Economic Forum, in June 2011.]]

During the war between the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and the Tamil Tigers, Russia helped the Sri Lankese government by providing education on battlefield tactics to the Sri Lanka Army.
Russia has an embassy in Colombo. Sri Lanka has an embassy in Moscow.

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|||14 October 1957||

Both countries established diplomatic relations in 1956.
A number of bilateral agreements in various fields have been concluded and are in force between both countries.

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|||10 July 1955||See Spain–Sri Lanka relations

Spain is accredited to Sri Lanka from its embassy in New Delhi, India.
Sri Lanka is accredited to Spain from its embassy in Paris, France.

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|||23 January 1956||See Sri Lanka–Switzerland relations

In the 1980s, political relations between Switzerland and Sri Lanka intensified, with many Sri Lankan Tamils fleeing from the Sri Lankan civil war to find asylum in Switzerland.

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|||4 February 1948||See Sri Lanka–United Kingdom relations

Diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom were established on 22 October 1946.

Sri Lanka maintains a high commission in London.
The United Kingdom is accredited to Sri Lanka through its high commission in Colombo.

The UK governed Sri Lanka from 1802 to 1948, until it achieved full independence as Ceylon.

Both countries share common membership of the Commonwealth and the World Trade Organization. Bilaterally the two countries have an Investment Agreement.

Oceania

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="width:100%; margin:auto;"

! style="width:15%;"| Country

! style="width:12%;"| Formal Relations Began

!Notes

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|||4 February 1948||See Australia–Sri Lanka relations

Australia has a High Commission in Colombo.
Sri Lanka has a (High Commission) in Canberra and five consulates-general in Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

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|||14 December 1955||See Foreign relations of New Zealand

New Zealand and Sri Lanka have a strong relationship since the 1800s. New Zealand has longstanding Commonwealth, migrant and sporting ties with Sri Lanka.

New Zealand has a High Commission in Colombo.
Sri Lanka is accredited to New Zealand from its high commission in Canberra, Australia.

New Zealand visits to Sri Lanka:

Prime Minister John Key and Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon Murray McCully visited Sri Lanka for the 23rd Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2013.
Hon Murray McCully, Minister of Foreign Affairs, June, August 2013
Sri Lankan Parliamentary Delegation attending the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Conference, October 1998
Agriculture, Lands & Forestry Minister Jayaratne, May 1996
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath visits New Zealand 27-30 May 2026.

References

External links

Ministry of External Affairs of Sri Lanka
Fallacy and the Reality of IMF Standby Arrangement for Sri Lanka by The Sunday Times

Foreign relations of Sri Lanka

History

Military

Diplomatic relations

Asia

Oceania

See also

References

Further reading

External links