WhatsApp Image 2025 01 25 at 09.13.06Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, met with H.E. Mrs. Marie-Noëlle Duris, Acting Business Manager and Acting Ambassador of France to Sri Lanka, at the Ministry on January 22, 2025.

Discussions focused on resuming the French Agency for Development (AFD)-supported Fisheries Harbour Development project at Galle, Kudawella, Beruwala, and Puranwella, which was paused due to the 2022 economic crisis.

Initial discussions began in 2017, followed by feasibility studies completed and presented in 2019. AFD agreed to conduct an Environmental and Social Impact Study (ESIS) under grant assistance in 2020. The project was approved by the Department of National Planning in 2021 and was planned for a five-year implementation period, from 2021 to 2026. However, it was halted due to the 2022 economic challenges.

The meeting underscored the importance of reviving this initiative to strengthen fisheries infrastructure and better support local fishing communities.

Other topics discussed included the reconstruction of fisheries harbors in the Northern and Eastern regions, the establishment of a knowledge exchange program for researchers, and providing support to the National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), particularly for research related to whales and marine mammals. The Acting Ambassador reiterated France’s commitment to assisting Sri Lanka in modernizing its fisheries sector and integrating it with the country’s growing tourism industry.

Senior officials from the French Embassy in Colombo and Dr. B.K. Kolita Kamal Jinadasa, Private Secretary to the Ministry of Fisheries, also attended the meeting.

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