New Zealand, Sri Lanka seek to deepen cooperation on trade, security, and development

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters, after meeting his Sri Lankan counterpart Vijitha Herath, said the two countries shared views on the increasingly challenging global environment and the interconnected challenges for development, trade and security in the Indo-Pacific region.   

“We remain committed to our cooperation across immigration, customs, and police and defence,” he said.   

Relations between the two countries are long-standing, and trade dates from the 1860s and sporting connections to the 1920s. New Zealand was one of the first countries to recognise Sri Lanka’s independence in 1948.   

Our modern relationship is growing, thanks to investments by both countries. We are pleased that the establishment of New Zealand’s High Commission in Colombo in 2021 was followed by the opening of a Sri Lankan High Commission in Wellington this year.   

These commitments will enable our trade, cultural and political engagements to grow for mutual benefit. For nearly 75 years, education has been a pillar of the relationship, starting with training Sri Lankan dental nurses in New Zealand under the Colombo Plan.   

Now we can count over 200 Sri Lankan alumni of New Zealand scholarship programmes. We are delighted to note further strengthening of these links through cooperation on tourism research between New Zealand’s University of Otago and the University of Colombo.   

For many years, the New Zealand-Sri Lanka relationship has also encompassed development cooperation aimed at strengthening resilience in vulnerable communities, increasing food security, and contributing to disaster response.   

We are proud today to announce another such link, the Sustainable Water and Livelihoods project, which will support farming households to improve their health and income generation.   

We discussed the growing number of New Zealand companies working with and investing in Sri Lanka or looking to work with Sri Lankan partners. Many of these collaborations will deliver benefits for Sri Lanka in the tourism, agriculture, and healthcare sectors.   

We also discussed the key role government-to-government cooperation between our food safety and border agencies plays in improving food safety standards, reducing red tape at the border, and increasing Sri Lanka’s market access capabilities.   

We reiterated that Sri Lanka’s application to accede to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement is very welcome.