Japanese foreign minister to arrive in Sri Lanka tonight

The Foreign Affairs Minister of Japan, Hayashi Yoshimasa is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka tonight (July 28) for a two-day official visit, the President’s Media Division (PMD) says.

During his stay, Minister Hayashi will have bilateral discussions with his Sri Lankan counterpart Ali Sabry at the Foreign Ministry in Colombo.

Later, he will pay courtesy calls on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
 

Minister Hayashi will be accompanied by Murakami Manabu, the Senior Foreign Policy Coordinator; Arima Yutaka, the Director General of Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs; Endo Kazuya, the Director General International Cooperation; and Okano Yukiko, the Deputy Press Secretary from the Japanese Foreign Ministry and a 22-member delegation consisting of officials of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The delegation will also visit one of the Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) sites in Sri Lanka.

Meanwhile, President of France Emmanuel Macron is also planning to undertake a brief visit to Sri Lanka this evening.

On the occasion of this historic visit to the island nation, a first by a French president, Macron will call on his Sri Lankan counterpart Ranil Wickremesinghe to talk about deepening bilateral relations as well as shared regional and global challenges.

The French leader, who was on an official visit to New Caledonia from Monday to Wednesday, is traveling to Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea before arriving in Sri Lanka on Friday evening.

Macron will be accompanied by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna and a high-level delegation comprising senior officials of the French Government.