Secretary General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Stefano Sannino has told Sri Lankan Ambassador to Belgium and Head of Mission to the European Union Grace Asirwatham that the EU expected Sri Lanka to make progress in governance, rule of Law and human rights until the desired results were achieved in a timely manner.

The top EU official said so when Ambassador Asirwatham paid a courtesy call on him in Brussels on Oct 4.

Ambassador Asirwatham briefed the Secretary General on the status of bilateral relations and the ongoing productive engagement on a range of issues, including controlling COVID-19 and the inoculation drive in the country, trade under the GSP Plus scheme, trade facilitation, investment, development assistance, etc.

Secretary General Sannino has noted that the bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and the EU have taken roots in many areas of cooperation over the years under the framework of the Partnership Cooperation Agreement and expressed confidence that these relations will continue to grow to contribute to the economic development of Sri Lanka. Secretary General Sannino while appreciating the constructive engagement with Sri Lanka last week by the GSP Plus Monitoring Mission and the successful conduct of the fifth meeting of the EU – Sri Lanka Working Group on Governance, Rule of Law and Human Rights on 29 September 2021, remarked that the EU expected the progress being made in the identified areas to continue until the desired results were achieved in a timely manner.

The Secretary General further said that the EU will continue to support Sri Lanka to address the COVID-19 related issues. In addition to bilateral cooperation, the Secretary General expressed keenness to engage Sri Lanka in the EU’s programs in Asia such as EU-Asia Connectivity Strategy and the EU’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.