Sri Lanka wants Vietnamese businesses to invest in transport infrastructure

Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam and Minister Bimal Rathnayake at the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

According to VNA correspondent in South Asia, in order to continue strengthening bilateral relations in the context of the two countries celebrating the 55th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations (1970-2025), on February 7, Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trinh Thi Tam met and worked with Minister of Transport, Roads, Seaports and Civil Aviation Bimal Rathnayake at the Sri Lankan Parliament House.

Mr. Bimal Rathnayake is also the Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Sri Lanka People's Liberation Front (JVP) and the leader of the JVP in the Sri Lankan Parliament.

At the meeting, Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam congratulated Mr. Bimal Rathnayake on his appointment as Minister of Transport, Roads, Ports and Civil Aviation of Sri Lanka; and congratulated the JVP party on its victory in the 2024 presidential and parliamentary elections.

The Ambassador also thanked Minister Bimal Rathnayake for his support in his role as Head of the JVP Foreign Affairs Committee in organizing the 95th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam on February 3.

Besides, Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam highly appreciated the good traditional friendship between Vietnam and Sri Lanka, expressing her hope that during her term of office, she will further promote bilateral relations through Party, Government and National Assembly channels as well as people-to-people exchanges.

On this occasion, the Ambassador informed about the foreign affairs and cultural activities that the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka plans to implement during the anniversary year to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields, including trade, investment, transportation, aviation, infrastructure, etc.

The Ambassador expressed his hope that the 5th Meeting of the Joint Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation at the Foreign Ministerial level between Vietnam and Sri Lanka, scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka this year, will be an opportunity for the two sides to discuss issues of mutual concern to promote more effective and substantive cooperation.

Regarding economic cooperation, Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam said that Sri Lankan businesses are interested in importing electric vehicles from Vietnam, among other products, considering this a potential area in trade and transportation cooperation between the two countries.

The two sides are also working to promote the establishment of direct flights between the two countries based on the Air Transport Agreement signed in 2012.

For his part, Minister Bimal Rathnayake affirmed the close relationship between the JVP and the Communist Party of Vietnam, President Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese Embassy.

He expressed strong support for cooperation initiatives between the two countries in the coming time, including the exchange of high-level delegations and all-level delegations and the organization of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of multilateral conferences.

Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam and Minister Bimal Rathnaya exchanged views at the meeting. (Photo: VNA)

Minister Bimal Rathnayake also announced the plan to establish a Sri Lanka-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians' Association in the new National Assembly, and proposed that Vietnam strengthen cooperation with the Sri Lankan Parliamentary Committee for Women.

Minister Bimal Rathnayake said Sri Lanka is prioritizing the development of railway, road, aviation and seaport infrastructure, calling on Vietnamese businesses to invest.

Sri Lanka is also planning to import new buses to improve the quality of the current bus system, with electric buses being a priority; Sri Lanka plans to organize a symposium on electric vehicles, which will be informed to interested Vietnamese businesses to attend.

Minister Bimal Rathnayake also expressed support for the establishment of a Sri Lanka-Vietnam Trade Council to facilitate trade cooperation between the two countries.

He welcomed activities to enhance cultural and Buddhist exchanges between the two countries, highly appreciated the Vietnamese Embassy's idea of naming a street in the capital Colombo after President Ho Chi Minh, and promised to discuss further with Sri Lankan authorities about this idea.