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Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has met with Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister, Vijitha Herath, during the East Asia Summit (EAS) being held in Kuala Lumpur. The EAS includes the ten ASEAN countries, plus Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea, and the United States. Sri Lanka is an observer nation. Interestingly, Lavrov began his diplomatic career in Sri Lanka and speaks Singhalese.
During the conversation, the parties discussed pressing issues pertaining to Russian-Lankan relations and collaboration on international platforms.
The bilateral trade turnover of agricultural products between Russia and Sri Lanka grew 2.4-fold to reach US$343.7 million in 2024, Russia’s Agroexport federal center has said. While relatively small, the results show an improvement in the Sri Lankan economy, with the country defaulting on its foreign debts in 2023. Russia provided assistance to the country, including a humanitarian shipment of 55,000 tons of fertilizer. Colombo has now partially restructured its debt and is able to resume normal trading patterns.
In 2024, Russian exports surged 14.9-fold to US$199.2 million, mainly due to the resumption of wheat supplies. Sri Lanka mainly exports tea to Russia, which accounted for nearly 94% of its exports in 2023. The top three exported products also included frozen fish (1.6%) and coconut oil (0.8%).
Analysts estimate Russia’s annual agricultural export potential to Sri Lanka as capable of reaching US$200 million, with Russia’s export prospects primarily tied to wheat. There are also opportunities for exporting confectionery products (mainly chocolate and baked goods), wheat or wheat-rye flour, and milk and cream. Sri Lanka has also become a favored destination for Russian tourists and digital nomads.
Russian businesses have several investments in Sri Lanka, including joint management of its Hambantota Airport, a pharmaceutical joint venture, the adding of it as an Asian freight port call, and potential energy and other investment projects.
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