Second Japanese ministerial level visit in seven months

Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka and Cambodia on a four-day tour, from Jan 09, to strengthen Japan’s relations with the two Asian countries, foreign media reported yesterday (27)

Minister Suzuki is expected to meet Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss debt restructuring for the country.

In November, Sri Lanka and a group of creditors, led by Japan and others, reached a basic agreement on deferring debt repayments and cutting interest rates.

“It’s important for the debt-restructuring process to make steady progress,” Japanese media quoted Suzuki as having said.

In Cambodia, the Finance Minister will work for closer bilateral ties, with the two countries this year, marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

In late July this year, the then Foreign Minister of Japan Hayashi Yoshimasa visited Colombo where he engaged in talks in debt restructuring support, infrastructure projects, and high-tech investment opportunities.

Sources said that January discussions would cover the possibility of resumption of the cancelled Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, the Colombo port’s East Container Terminal, the Kandy Development Plan, the Central Expressway, and the expansion of the Bandaranaike International Airport.