MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS SRI LANKA ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT 2017 MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS Contents Page No 1. Mission, Subjects and Functions of the Ministry of Foreign 1 Affairs 2. Preface 3 - 5 3. Organizational Chart of the Ministry 7 4. Progress Report of the Divisions - Africa Division 9 - 27 - Consular Affairs Division 29 - 35 - East Asia and Pacific Division 37 - 80 - Economic Affairs and Trade Division 81 - 88 - European Union, Multilateral Treaties and Commonwealth 89 - 95 Division - Finance Division 97 - 102 - General Administration Division 103 - 106 - Legal Division 107 - 112 - Middle East 113 - 134 - Ocean Affairs and Climate Change Division 135 - 142 - Overseas Administration Division 143 - 149 - Overseas Sri Lankan Division 151 - 154 - Policy Planning Division 155 - 157 - Protocol Division 159 - 167 - Public Communications Division 169 - 172 - South Asia and SAARC Division 173 - 184 - United Nations and Human Rights Division 185 - 192 - United States of America and Canada Division 193 - 201 - West Division 203 - 229 5. Network of Diplomatic Missions Abroad 231 6. Revenue collected by Sri Lanka Missions Abroad in 2017 233 - 235 7. Consular activities carried out by Sri Lanka Missions Abroad - 236 - 238 2017 Vision To be a responsible nation within the international community and to maintain friendly relations with all countries. Mission The Promotion, Projection and Protection of Sri Lanka’s national interests internationally, in accordance with the foreign policy of the Government and to advise the Government on managing foreign relations in keeping with Sri Lanka’s national interests. Subjects and Functions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Implementation of political plans and programmes in respect of Foreign Affairs; Representation of Sri Lanka abroad; International Agreements and Treaties; Foreign Government and international organization’s representation in Sri Lanka; External publicity; Diplomatic immunities and privileges and Consular functions. Page | 01 Page | 02 Preface The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the institution entrusted with the formulation and implementation of the Foreign Policy of Sri Lanka, continued to promote and protect the interests of the country in the political, economic, social and cultural domains, under the overarching Foreign Policy of “Friendship with all and enmity with none”. In keeping with the policies of the National Unity Government towards the promotion of Democracy, Good Governance, Human Rights, the Rule of Law, Reconciliation and Sustainable Development, Sri Lanka’s international engagements have been expanded with a view to projecting Sri Lanka as a responsible member of the international community, enjoying the respect and its rightful place among the global community and thereby bringing benefits to its people. In the above context, Sri Lanka’s diplomatic outreach initiated by His Excellency the President, the Hon. Prime Minister, the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Hon. State Minister of Foreign Affairs have been instrumental in consolidating our relations with many countries across the regions, that have resulted in tangible and positive outcomes in our foreign relations. Sri Lanka’s open, transparent and constructive engagement with all international partners and organisations, such as the United Nations and the European Union, has led to cooperative partnership transcending into many areas of interest. Sri Lanka continued to accord a high priority to nurturing diplomatic relations with the neighbouring countries in South Asia. As such, a significant enhancement in the relations between India and Sri Lanka, with regular contact at the highest level, has been witnessed with increased cooperation in a wide spectrum of areas. Similarly, increased interaction with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan and the Maldives has paved the way for the renewal of mutual trust and warm friendship with our friends in the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation ( SAARC) . High-level visits from both Sri Lanka and China have further consolidated the historic and friendly relations between the two countries thereby augmenting cooperation in several fields including in the economic sector. Relations with Japan have reached a milestone with the establishment of a Comprehensive Partnership between the two countries. Sri Lanka’s diplomatic relations with countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea have continued to expand with cooperation in a multitude of areas. Relations between Sri Lanka and Russia saw new heights with several new projects being initiated that have contributed to the further expansion of cooperation between the two countries. Sri Lanka’s relations with the United States of America has entered a new realm of engagement with greater cooperation and understanding in many areas facilitated by the establishment high level “Partnership Dialogue” between the two countries since 2016. The regular interactions between the two countries, across US Congress and the Administration have strengthened bilateral relations with assistance being given for reconciliation, peace and, socio-economic progress in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s regular interactions with countries in the Americas and the Latin America Region including Brazil and Canada also further expanded with increased bilateral high level visits and cooperation in areas of mutual interests. Page | 03 Sri Lanka’s engagement with the European countries reflected promising outcomes with initiatives taken to develop bilateral relations with countries in the European region such as the UK, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Italy, France, Slovenia, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Poland. A major achievement that was channelled through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the period under review is regaining the Generalized Scheme of Preference Plus (GSP +) status from the European Union. Sri Lanka’s outreach to the Middle East, especially Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait saw a substantial improvement with high level visits seeking to expand cooperation on trade, tourism and opportunities for skilled contractual labour. While Sri Lanka continued to maintain close contacts with the countries in the African region, its relations with South Africa has showed remarkable progress. Sri Lanka’s membership in the African Union, as an Observer, had also further strengthened multilateral cooperation with the African region. In the sphere of multilateral diplomacy, the new Government has committed itself to maintaining good relations with all countries and increasing its cooperation with the United Nations and other international organizations. In this effort, Sri Lanka is making substantive progress by actively participating at various United Nations fora and thereby reaping maximum benefits to the country. Ministry of Foreign Affairs is on the implementation of towards fulfilling the commitments made by the Government of Sri Lanka in Resolution 30/1 of 2015 and 34/1 of March 2017 titled “Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka”. It continues to coordinate matters related to the reconciliation agenda of the Government including truth, reparation, justice and non-recurrence with a victim- centred approach, recognising the impact of conflict on all citizens of the country, irrespective of their ethnicities, gender, social status, age and other identities. In order to meet Sri Lanka’s obligation under various Human Rights Conventions that the country had committed to over the years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in association with the other line agencies and Ministries, with the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers, have formulated the National Human Rights Action Plan (NHRAP) 2017- 2021 in the framework of an Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human Rights established by the Cabinet of Ministers. Sri Lanka, for over several decades, has contributed to the United Nations Peacekeeping efforts and thereby reaffirmed its commitment to increase contribution to UN peacekeeping. It has pledged significant participation in Peace Keeping Missions. Currently, there are 328 military personnel deployed in 08 UN Peacekeeping Missions across the world and 32 police personnel have also been deployed in 02 UN Missions in Africa. Two Military Officers are serving at the United Nations Head Quarters in New York. Sri Lanka also took measures to increase its interaction with the Commonwealth fraternity in areas of common interest. Taking into consideration the strategic importance of Sri Lanka, as an Indian Ocean hub in the realm of global logistics and commercial activities, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has undertaken several diplomatic initiatives to promote the vision of peaceful interactions in the Indian Ocean in order to harness the maximum benefits from the location of the country. To this end, enhanced participation of the Government at several meetings of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and Bay of Bengal Page | 04 Sri Lanka’s engagement with the European countries reflected promising outcomes with Initiatives for Multi sectoral and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) have been a useful initiatives taken to develop bilateral relations with countries in the European region platform to advance the country’s objectives in this area. such as the UK, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Italy, France, Slovenia, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and Poland. A major achievement that was channelled through the The Ministry