Antony J. Blinken 71st U.S. Secretary of State | Official Website
The Governments of the United States and Sri Lanka released a joint statement on July 15, 2024, following the Fifth United States-Sri Lanka Partnership Dialogue held on July 12 in Washington, D.C. The dialogue focused on economic prosperity, security cooperation, sustainable development, democracy and human rights, and people-to-people exchanges.
Acting Under Secretary for Political Affairs of the U.S. Department of State John Bass and Foreign Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Aruni Wijewardane co-chaired the meeting. Both nations reaffirmed their commitment to a bilateral relationship rooted in shared democratic values and respect for national sovereignty.
The United States acknowledged signs of economic stabilization in Sri Lanka and its commitment to the IMF program and reforms aimed at recovery, financial governance, and future growth. In response, Sri Lanka expressed gratitude for U.S. economic assistance during its recent crisis, which exceeded a quarter-billion dollars. The U.S. continues to support Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring and economic reform agenda.
Both delegations emphasized exploring new opportunities to enhance market access, trade, investment, and tourism. The U.S. committed to supporting Sri Lanka’s progress through private-sector investment encouragement and capacity enhancement to combat corruption and address food insecurity. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) is committing $553 million to develop the West Container Terminal at the Port of Colombo.
The countries also committed to addressing climate change together. The United States supports Sri Lanka's goal to produce 70 percent of electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and attain carbon neutrality by 2050 through assistance from USAID’s Sri Lanka Energy Program.
In addition to climate initiatives, USAID will continue supporting sustainable development in Sri Lanka with programs focusing on transparency, governance, economic resilience, environmental sustainability, energy security, school nutrition, and education cooperation.
Both nations reaffirmed their commitment to a free Indo-Pacific region with continued cooperation on maritime security in the Indian Ocean. This includes activities under Sri Lanka's tenure as Chair of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and upcoming transfers such as a High Endurance U.S. Coast Guard Cutter.
Ongoing bilateral defense cooperation includes humanitarian demining support from the U.S., disaster relief efforts, joint military engagements, cybersecurity collaboration, port security improvements, hydrographic mapping capabilities enhancement support from the U.S., training personnel development in this field.
Sri Lanka informed about recent developments in reconciliation efforts while promoting democracy and good governance practices. The United States appreciated these steps along with anti-corruption legislation passage.
Both delegations supported ongoing educational exchanges like Fulbright programs alongside collaborative cultural preservation projects funded by U.S over past decades—highlighting regional leadership training initiatives launched recently out-of-Colombo under Young South Asian Leadership Initiative umbrella framework along-with Peace Corps returning after twenty-six-year hiatus period
Finally reaffirmation was made towards seventy-six-year partnership continuation across broad-ranging areas covering economy/developmental goals/climate-change/security-cooperation/governance/human-rights/people-to-people-exchange domains between both countries
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