Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa briefed UNESCO's Cultural Ministers the cultural crisis brought upon by the coronavirus pandemic and the steps taken by Sri Lanka.
The meeting, held on Zoom, involved more than 200 participants from 140 countries and was live-streamed on the Unesco website.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, spoke of the country's tourism and cultural industry and the fact that it was self-sustainable before COVID-19.
Sri Lanka depends heavily on the cultural and tourism sectors, and in 2018, the tourism sector brought in $4 billion (Dh14.69bn).
He said going forward, it would require support from both the government and international bodies.
The main objective of this discussion was to prioritize a strategy to obtain regional, national, and international level of strategic support to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on Sri Lanka's cultural sector, the Prime Minister's Office said.