Sri Lanka – UAE Relationships

• Sri Lanka is a country that maintains close ties with the United Arab Emirates, the friendship between the two countries dating back to many years.
  
  
• Diplomatic relations between the two countries was established in July 1979 with the opening of the Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi, and that was after the visit by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding Father of UAE, may God show mercy upon him, to Sri Lanka to participate in the Non-Aligned Summit in 1976 in Colombo.
  
  
• Since then, bilateral relations between the two countries significantly evolved to become a friendly and privileged relationship, with the exchange of high-level visits in addition to the signing of agreements and memoranda of understanding which led to the strengthening of cooperation between the two countries in various fields.
  
  
• Last year, 2019, marked the 40th Anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka. The first Sri Lankan Ambassador to UAE was appointed in 1983 and the Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi was established, followed by the opening of the Sri Lankan Consulate in Dubai in 1993 which subsequently became the Consulate General in 1999. 
  
  
• UAE opened its embassy in Sri Lanka in 1999 and thereafter diplomatic representation at the ambassadorial level continued in both countries. This contributed towards further enhancing relations and strengthening cooperation and also to take supportive attitudes towards the other, at local, regional and global levels.
  
  
• UAE has stood by Sri Lanka positively during all important issues faced by Sri Lanka, such as the conflict with the LTTE, which the United Nations designated as a terrorist movement. During the tsunami, UAE provided emergency aid as well as various forms of assistance to overcome the economic situation in the country.

Highlights:

• Bilateral Relations established in 1979.
  
  
• Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi was opened on 19th July, 1979.
  
  
• Sri Lankan Consulate in Dubai opened in August, 1993.
  
  
• Elevated to General Consulate in 1999.
  
  
• UAE Embassy in Colombo established on 05th April, 1999.
  
  
• Joint Commission between UAE and Sri Lanka established in January, 2013.
  
  
• First UAE Consulate and Visa Center established in Colombo on 01st June, 2014, and officially declared open on 06th October, 2014. 
  
  
• Over the past years, there has been an increase in ministerial and official visits between the two countries. His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, made an official visit to Sri Lanka on 18th November, 2017. During this visit he was able to meet with the President, Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka and discuss matters of mutual interest to the two countries.
  
  
• In November 2019 Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha visited UAE to attend the 19th Council of Ministers’ Meeting of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) held in Abu Dhabi. 
  
  
• In January 2017, Sri Lanka hosted the Senior Officials’ Meeting and Fourth Ministerial Consultation of the Abu Dhabi Dialogue (ADD) among the Asian Labour Sending and Receiving Countries in Colombo.
  
  
• In January 2020, His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka, accepted the invitation extended by H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to visit the UAE.
  
  
• Bilateral cooperation has led to the support of mutual nominations for both countries in international organizations and forums. Sri Lanka supported UAE’s bid to host the permanent headquarters of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) in Abu Dhabi and also ratified the Statute of the Agency on January 3, 2011. The Sri Lankan authorities also supported the hosting of EXPO 2020 in Dubai. Similarly, UAE too has always stood by Sri Lanka during the periodical reviews of human rights reports at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, a position that the Sri Lankan government greatly values and appreciates. 
  
  
• There is cooperation and support between the two countries in environmental issues because of Sri Lanka’s interest in projects for the disposal of solid waste and forest conservation. There is also cooperation between the two sides in the field of civil aviation with an increasing number of flights due to the large number of travelers between the two countries. Currently, there are more than 100 flights a week, 90 of them being made by UAE national carriers.

UAE and Sri Lanka have signed a number of Agreements and Memorandums of Understanding:

• Air Transport Agreement, signed in the year 2000.
  
  
• Postal Agreement, between UAE Post and the Postal Department of Sri Lanka signed in 2002.
  
  
• Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation, in 2003.
  
  
• Agreement on setting up of Joint Commission, signed in Abu Dhabi in 2013.
  
  
• Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, in 2014.
  
  
• Agreement on Extradition, in 2014.
  
  
• Agreement on Cooperation and Technical Assistance in Customs Affairs, in 2017.
  
  
• MoU on the establishment of a Joint Committee for Consular Affairs, in 2017.
  
  
• MoU on strengthening Best Practices in the field of Manpower, in 2018.

Among other agreements regarding which negotiations are currently underway:

• Agreement for the Protection and Promotion of Investment.
  
  
• Agreement on Security Cooperation.
  
  
• MoU on Cooperation in the fields of Education and Scientific Research.
  
  
• MoU for the establishment of a Joint Business Council.

• Sri Lanka is considered one of the countries friendly to the UAE, as the ties of friendship and economic relations between the two countries date back many years, when the Arabs arrived in Sri Lanka two thousand years ago for the purpose of trade, and diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in July 1979 with the opening of the Sri Lankan embassy in Abu Dhabi. 
  
  
• The strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries led to mutual cooperation in various fields, foremost of which is the economic field. The UAE is the largest and most important trading partner of Sri Lanka in the Middle East region, and recent years have witnessed the exchange of official visits between the two countries, in addition to commercial and economic delegations to participate in forums and meetings and discuss trade and investment opportunities in the two countries.
  
  
• There has been a constant exchange of trade delegations and economic participation in forums and meetings, and discussions on trade and investment opportunities in both countries. Sri Lanka regularly participates in UAE’s trade exhibitions such as the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), Arabian Travel Mart, Gulf Food Trade Exhibition and Arab Health Exhibition. 
  
  
• Sri Lanka welcomes UAE investments and there are great investment opportunities available for UAE investors. The governments of the two countries look forward to further promote relations and open wider horizons of cooperation between the two countries.
  
  
• UAE investments rank first among the Middle East countries, amounting to 65% of the region's total investment in Sri Lanka. FDI inflows from the UAE to Sri Lanka during 2015-2018 were to the tune of US$ 641 million. During 2015-2017, Sri Lanka received US$ 593 million in FDI from the UAE, which represented 6.1 percent of the total FDI inflows to the country during that period. These investments are mainly in the construction and hospitality sectors, manufacturing industries, logistics, communications and information technology. 
  
  
• The Balance of Trade between the two countries has always remained in favour of UAE. The bilateral trade in 2016 was US$ 1.34 billion, which jumped to US$ 2.13 billion in 2018, witnessing a 62.92 percent increase. Of this, total exports from Sri Lanka to the UAE were to the tune of US$ 290 million and total imports from the UAE to Sri Lanka were valued at US$ 1.84 billion. Tea, natural rubber, coconut oil, desiccated coconut, copra, cashew nuts, essential oil, fruits and vegetables, processed food, sea food, rubber products and toys are the major export commodities from Sri Lanka to the UAE, while imports from UAE constitute of petrol, fuel and gas oils, urea, iron and steel and machinery parts.  Sri Lanka’s trade with the UAE in 2018 represented 56.5 percent of the country’s total trade with the Middle East, making the UAE its largest trading partner in the region.
  
  
• In the year 2008, Sri Lanka opened an office in Dubai in order to promote tourism in Sri Lanka. This led to an increase in the number of tourists from the United Arab Emirates to Sri Lanka. In 2011 the number of tourists coming from the UAE reached its peak of 17,664 tourists. A total number of 71,636 tourists from the Middle East visited Sri Lanka in 2018, and 5,785 of them were from the UAE.
  
  
• The Sri Lankan community in the UAE, amounting to around 300,000 Sri Lankans, is the second largest community of Sri Lankans abroad, with around one third of them doing white-collar jobs. The remittances from the diaspora heavily support the Sri Lankan economy. In 2018 alone 32,836 Sri Lankans travelled to UAE for employment. Sri Lanka received US$ 3.59 billion worth foreign remittances in 2018 from over one million Sri Lankans working in the Middle East, which represented 52.2 percent of the total remittances the country. The Sri Lankan Government has introduced insurance schemes and pension funds to ensure their welfare of the Sri Lankans living abroad.
  
  
• The current Sri Lankan government has a vision to develop the country's economy and establish infrastructure projects as well as free trade zones and major modern cities, and this requires more investment and support for major companies around the world, and because the UAE is the largest economic partner of Sri Lanka in the Middle East, there is much hope among the Sri Lankans in the UAE. Sri Lanka welcomes UAE’s hosting of the "Expo 2020" exhibition in Dubai and has committed to active participation in its activities, whether at the level of the public sector or the private sector, as it is considered a global platform to promote Sri Lanka economically as the government looks forward to attracting more investment and tourism in the coming years.

• Aid and Humanitarian Assistance is considered an effective way to support countries that suffer different forms of economic, social and political challenges, such as what happened in Sri Lanka after the tsunami, and they also facilitate continuous contact between the peoples and communities. Several charitable and humanitarian institutions in the UAE have provided a lot of aid to Sri Lanka. This assistance has both, an economic dimension and also a humanitarian perspective, and paves the way to strengthen and enhance the bonds of friendship and sincere cooperation, earning for the United Arab Emirates the respect and appreciation of all countries.
  
  
• During floods and landslides that effect, from time to time, different parts of Sri Lanka, the government of United Arab Emirates extends its assistance by providing emergency relief to the people and even sends emergency teams to engage in flood relief activities under the supervision of the United Arab Emirates Embassy in Colombo. Dry ration packs and other essential items valued at millions of rupees are distributed to the distraught families. Charity organizations in UAE also conduct medical camps and mobile clinics in affected areas.
  
  
• The support and assistance provided by UAE through its institutions, notably the Emirates Red Crescent, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, Muhammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charity Foundation, Dubai Charity, Sharjah Charity International, Sharjah Charity House and Dar Al Ber Society has had a significant impact on the stability in Sri Lanka and consolidated the friendship between the two countries.

UAE Aid to Sri Lanka

Since the aftermath of the Tsunami disaster, the United Arab Emirates has contributed immensely towards the welfare and development of the people of Sri Lanka.

• Construction of more than a dozen housing schemes comprising of 3,200 houses.
  
  
• Repairing and renovating 1,150 homes.
  
  
• Constructing and equipping 07 classroom buildings for schools.
  
  
• 03 Children’s homes
  
  
• 05 Student’s hostels and vocational training centers
  
  
• 04 Clinics and health centers
  
  
• 05 Shopping complexes
  
  
• 10 Mosques and community centers
  
  
• 06 Ambulances and mobile clinics
  
  
• 02 Cancer treatment machines for Cancer hospitals in Colombo and Kandy, worth over 1.2 million US dollars.
  
  
• Medical equipment and supplies to hospitals in Colombo and other districts.
  
  
• Hundreds of wells and water supply projects.

Total assistance provided by UAE to Sri Lanka, in the form of fixed assets, over the period 2000-2018, exceeds 35 million US dollars.

In addition to that, UAE is the leading provider of welfare and seasonal projects to Sri Lanka, such as Ramadan and Haj seasonal projects, orphan care, disaster relief, income generation, school stationary and educational projects etc.