SL wants to be included in EU’s Global Gateway Strategy

Head of Mission to the European Union, Ambassador Grace Asirwatham, has requested that Sri Lanka, too, be included in the Global Gateway Strategy to develop emerging markets in the fields, such as digital technology, energy and the environment.

Launched in late 2021, under the French Presidency of the European Union (EU), the Global Gateway Strategy is a European Commission initiative that contributes to the growth of developing countries which are EU partners.

A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry here quoted Ambassador Asirwatham as having told the Managing Director for Asia and Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS), Niclas Kvarnstrom, the need for tangible actions to translate the EU’s cooperation strategies into impactful results and that the Global Gateway Programme, initiated with pilot projects in a number of countries in the Indo-Pacific region, should also consider investments in small and vulnerable economies, such as Sri Lanka.

She has expressed hope that the EU’s Indo-Pacific cooperation strategy would progress from strategy to action in an inclusive way.

The outgoing Sri Lanka’s top envoy in Brussels has said so during a detailed discussion with Niclas Kvarnstrom on the EU’s Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy. The Head of Division for South Asia and Regional Affairs Rensje Teerink, Deputy Head of South Asia and Regional Affairs Monika Bylaite, Desk Officer for Sri Lanka at the EEAS Galia Agisheva, and Second Secretary of the Sri Lanka Mission Dulmini Dahanayake, were present at the meeting.

Ambassador Asirwatham expressed appreciation at the outset for the far-reaching objectives outlined in the EU’s Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy and underscored Sri Lanka’s deep commitment to maintaining a secure and prosperous Indian Ocean that upholds the rights of all countries, emphasizing the importance of freedom of navigation in line with the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS).

In the context of Sri Lanka’s current chairmanship of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), the Ambassador highlighted the potential for enhanced cooperation in the region, while respecting shared values.

Managing Director for Asia and Pacific at the EEAS Niclas Kvarnstrom shared the EU’s strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific Region, underscoring collaboration in trade and commerce, green and clean energy transition, and addressing common challenges, such as climate change and natural disasters, as well as security issues.

Managing Director Kvarnstrom has acknowledged Ambassador Asirwatham’s perspectives on the EU’s Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy and assured that her views would be given due consideration under the Global Gateway Programme. He acknowledged Sri Lanka’s active participation in ministerial meetings, lauding the country’s keen interest in the Indo-Pacific Cooperation Strategy and its commitment to guiding the strategy toward collective success.