September 1, 2017 — Colombo, Sri Lanka
An AJC delegation led by Associate Executive Director for Policy Jason Isaacson, accompanied by Asia Pacific Institute Director Shira Loewenberg, concluded a visit to Colombo, following a successful visit to New Delhi earlier this week.
Meeting with senior Sri Lankan officials, academicians, and business and civil society leaders, the delegation discussed issues of common concern, including the U.S. role in the Indian Ocean region, and strengthening ties between Sri Lanka and both the United States and Israel.
“While its small size makes it a frequently overlooked friend of like-minded democracies, Sri Lanka's potential for development, along with its strategic importance astride critical global shipping lanes makes it a vital point of Western democracies' interests,” said Isaacson. “There is much to celebrate here in the developments of the last several years, with the establishment of peace and the beginning of reconciliation after a long period of intercommunal violence. AJC has been and continues to be an active advocate for a strong U.S.-Sri Lankan relationship, along with increasing closeness between Israel and Sri Lanka."
Among those the AJC delegation met were Foreign Secretary Prasad Kariyawasam, and State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne. The delegation also conferred with U.S. Ambassador Atul Keshap, Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu and, for the second time in one week, Israeli Ambassador Daniel Carmon, with whom AJC met in New Delhi.
An AJC delegation previously visited Sri Lanka in October 2015. AJC India Representative Arjun Hardas, who has regularly visited Colombo since, was part of the delegation.
Photo By: Wally Salinger
