State Foreign Affairs Minister Vasantha Senanayke paid an official visit to EI Salvador from July 6-9 to represent Sri Lanka in the first session of bilateral talks between the two countries. Deputy Foreign Affairs, Integration and Economic Promotion Minister Carlos Castaneda led the EI Salavador side during the talks.
A key issue that the two ministers focused on during the discussions was collaborative processes for prevention of chronic kidney disease (CKD) that is prevalent in both EI Salvador and Sri Lanka. They agreed to utilise scientific and technical assistance through the framework of South-South Cooperation to address challenges in the health and education sectors.
The ministers also agreed to explore the possibility of signing an agreement on scientific, technical, education, and cultural cooperation to pursue shared objectives in these sectors. On the subject of gender equality, Sri Lanka and EI Salvador undertook to share their experiences and bet practices.
The two sides also discussed bilateral trade and investment, and envisaged cooperation in the areas of culture, science and technology, education, agriculture and tourism.
To strengthen bilateral trade, the two ministers agreed to promote business linkages between the relevant chambers of commerce in the two countries and host trade fairs. In this context, EI Salvador extended an invitation to the government of Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka’s business community to actively participate in the 26th International Fair Edition, a bi-annual trade fair scheduled to be held in San Salvador from November 14-17.
The two sides issued a joint communique following the conclusion of the first session of bilateral talks. Sri Lanka will host the second session of bilateral consultations in 2020.