Secretary General of the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Anne-Marie DESCÔTES undertook an official visit to Sri Lanka from 10-11 December 2024 to attend the inauguration of the Regional Centre for Maritime Studies at the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University (KDU) on 11 December 2024.
During her short visit, the Secretary General had a courtesy meeting with Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They welcomed the continued upward trajectory in the Franco-Sri Lanka bilateral partnership, strengthened through high-level engagements and new initiatives in the pipeline.
The Regional Centre for Maritime Studies is a Sri Lanka-France bilateral initiative that aims to strengthen capacity and knowledge mainly in maritime safety and security. This collaboration demonstrates the shared interest of the two countries to strengthen cooperation in the maritime domain in the Indian Ocean, as Indian Ocean States and members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA).
Bilateral talks were also held between Secretary General DESCÔTES and her counterpart Foreign Secretary Aruni Ranaraja on 11th of December. They reiterated the shared commitment to further enhance the longstanding bilateral partnership through frequent interactions and dialogues between the two Foreign Ministries. The discussion also focused on a range of potential areas of mutual interest including economic and development cooperation, maritime cooperation, climate change and cooperation in the multilateral fora.
