Month: October 2023
Sri Lanka to take over Chair of Indian Ocean Rim Association. Ministers meet in Colombo next week
Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) as well as other senior Ministers of IORA Member States and Dialogue Partners will arrive in Sri Lanka next week for the 23rd IORA Council of Ministers which Sri Lanka is hosting on 11 October 2023 in Colombo. The Council of Ministers meeting in Colombo will see the participation of sixteen Ministers including the Foreign Ministers of Bangladesh, India, Iran, Mauritius, Malaysia and South Africa as well as Ministerial and senior level participation from Australia, Comoros, France, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mozambique, Oman, Seychelles, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Tanzania, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen (member countries) and from China, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Türkiye, United Kingdom and United States of America (dialogue partners). The Council of Ministers is the highest decision making body of IORA.
Foreign Minister Ali Sabry will chair the Council when the current Chair, Foreign Minister of Bangladesh will hand over the chairmanship to the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka.
The Council will be preceded by the 25th meeting of the Committee of IORA Senior Officials (9-10 October) which will be chaired by Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane.
The Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), established in 1997, is an intergovernmental organisation of States on the rim of the Indian Ocean. Its membership spans Africa, West Asia, South Asia, South East Asia and the Oceania. Today, IORA’s membership has expanded to 23 Member States and 11 Dialogue Partners. Sri Lanka will assume the chairmanship of IORA for the period 2023 to 2025 at the 23rd Council of Ministers’ Meeting.
The Ministers will deliberate on ways to cooperate on the six priority areas identified by the Association, including Trade and Investment, Maritime Safety and Security, Fisheries Management, Disaster Risk Management and Blue Economy, among others. They will be guided by recommendations to be made by the 25th Committee of IORA Senior Officials.
The Secretary General of the Indian Ocean Rim Association Dr Salman Al Farisi and the directors of the IORA Secretariat in Mauritius will also participate in the meeting.
The visiting Ministers will also make a collective call on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and hold bilateral discussions with their Sri Lankan counterpart Foreign Minister Ali Sabry as well as with other Ministers, during their stay in Sri Lanka.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
President Wickremesinghe Warns of Urgent Climate Crisis, Unveils Ambitious Plans
President Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed the 5th Forum of Ministers & Environment Authorities of the Asia Pacific at the Shangri La Hotel in Colombo today (05), delivering a passionate speech that emphasized three crucial points: the urgency of the climate crisis, Sri Lanka’s ambitious climate plans and the dire state of global biodiversity.
President Wickremesinghe opened his speech by drawing attention to the pressing climate concerns facing the world today. He cited the alarming estimate from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), stating that global warming is projected to reach a dangerous 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052. “Humanity is facing an existential threat,” he declared. He highlighted the interlinked crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, emphasizing the devastating impact on individuals and communities worldwide.
The President then turned to Sri Lanka’s commitment to addressing these challenges. He pledged to accelerate nature-based solutions, including renewable energy, through Sri Lanka’s Climate Prosperity Plan, which was launched at COP 27. “Sri Lanka is in the process of renewing the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan 2016 to 2022 to achieve the objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Diversity Framework,” he announced. Additionally, he unveiled an ambitious Net Zero 2050 roadmap for Sri Lanka, set to be launched at COP 28.
President Wickremesinghe stressed that despite Sri Lanka’s minor global emissions contribution (0.03%), the country is dedicated to significant reductions. Sri Lanka aims to achieve a 14.5% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, generate 70% of its electricity from renewable sources, attain a 32% forest cover, phase out coal power by 2042, and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
The President also expressed deep concern over the state of global biodiversity. He lamented that the world has already lost 8% of known animal species, with 22% at risk of extinction due to habitat destruction and invasive species. “We are now losing biodiversity up to 10,000 times faster than it was disappearing 100 years ago,” he warned.
In conclusion, President Wickremesinghe’s speech outlined the urgent need for climate action, Sri Lanka’s commitment to sustainability and the critical biodiversity challenges the world faces. The President’s call for collective action and his unveiling of ambitious climate plans underscored the gravity of the global situation.“Countries unwilling to do their part to stop the climate crisis are guilty of committing genocide,” he concluded.
Following is the full speech delivered by President Ranil Wickremesinghe at the 5th Forum of Ministers & Environment Authorities of the Asia Pacific;
“I join our Minister of Environment in welcoming you to Sri Lanka. Humanity is facing an existential threat. The interlinked and cascading effects of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution—the triple planetary crisis—are demanding a heavy toll on individuals, communities and threatening life on our planet. We are putting extreme pressure on the planet. The triple planetary crisis is already exceeding the planetary boundaries. The world has already lost 8% of known animal species and 22% are at risk of extinction due to the destruction of their natural habitats and the introduction of invasive species. We are now losing biodiversity up to 10,000 times faster than it was disappearing 100 years ago. Declines in nature and biodiversity at the current trajectory will undermine the progress towards 35 out of 44 targets of the SDGs related to poverty, hunger, health, weather, cities, climates, oceans and land. In terms of change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that global warming is likely to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052.
The other day, I read a blog by a young scientist, a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists. Her name is Sanjali De Silva. This is what she said: “People of Sri Lanka feel the impact of climate change every day. Those effects are overwhelmingly caused by the self-serving command and irresponsible action of the fossil fuel industry and the nations unwilling to do their part to stop the climate paradigm. My people of Sri Lanka and my family deserve better.” I agree wholeheartedly with her. Sri Lanka, her country and mine, has constantly been placed among the top risk of extreme weather events by the Climate Risk Index annually released by German Watch. Although Sri Lanka’s emissions are globally negligible, amounting to merely 0.03%, we, in our ambitious NDCs, have set targets for 2030 to achieve a 14.5% reduction of GHG emissions, a 70% electricity generation through renewable sources, 32% forest cover, weaning off coal power by 2042 and reaching net zero by 2050.
The Climate Prosperity Plan of Sri Lanka, launched at COP 27, aims at rapid augmentation of nature-based solutions, including renewable energy. The Net Zero 2050 roadmap for Sri Lanka will be launched at COP 28. Sri Lanka is in the process of renewing the National Biodiversity Strategic Action Plan 2016 to 2022 to achieve the objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Diversity Framework. Since Sri Lanka is one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots, I have instructed the Ministry of Environment to formulate a national policy on living entities to conserve pristine ecosystems. Sri Lanka has formulated the national policy on waste management, covering nine categories of general and hazardous waste. The national policy on chemical management was formulated to streamline chemical management in the country. Sri Lanka formulated the national policy on sustainable consumption and production in 2019. The Green Procurement Policy and the Green Labelling Framework will come into effect this year. My government will enact a new Climate Change Act and a National Environment Act to address the triple planetary crisis in the context of new knowledge and practices. We are starting our transition to a green economy. But there is a cost. The Climate Prosperity Plan, which spans from 2023 to 2042, will require 26.5 billion U.S. dollars. The implementation of the Net Zero 2050 roadmap will require over 100 billion U.S. dollars. The list is not over. Where are we going to source these resources from? We cannot source all this money from within our country. The problem is not confined to Sri Lanka.
Developing countries require financing up to 5.9 trillion U.S. dollars to fulfil their NDCs up to 2030. A further 4 trillion U.S. dollars is required per annum for clean energy technology to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. At COP 27, there was an agreement to provide the lost and damaged funding for vulnerable countries hit by climate disaster. The Sharm El Sheikh Implementation Plan, a transitional committee was established. The meetings of the committee and the discussions at the recent sessions of the UN during the UN General Assembly have not resolved key questions.
a. Who will contribute? Is it the developed nations? EU, UK, Norway, among others, say all countries are liable to pay.
b. The question of criteria. Who will receive the funds?
c. Where to house the fund? At the World Bank or UNFCC?
d. Where do you find the money for the fund? Is it re-channelling existing funds or new additional funds? Delegates, these discussions are getting nowhere and it’s unlikely that these issues will be resolved by the time of COP 28.
The ability of global leaders to cooperate and provide a coordinated response to existential challenges such as climate change is missing in a scenario dominated by great power rivalries, geopolitical interests and in many cases domestic policy. For instance, it is not feasible to expect robust leadership of the United States in the global fight against climate change next year. The US will be caught up in an acrimonious election year and must first overcome domestic debates between climate deniers and those who are serious about addressing the issue. The Ukraine war will tie down Europe. The Indo-Pacific will witness further escalation of tension. Numerous global fora have attempted to address the issue of climate change. The Bridgetown Initiative, Paris Pact for People and Planet, and numerous initiatives by the UN Secretary-General. The issues and potential solutions have been well articulated at these events. What is missing is the money on the table, leadership and action.
Therefore, we in Asia-Pacific and others in the global south will need to galvanize an alternative leadership mechanism. What is crucial is that geopolitics and great power rivalries take a second place when it comes to addressing climate issues such as climate change and global environmental degradation. We need a climate justice forum to ensure that the countries least responsible for climate change do not bear a disproportionate share of the loss. We need to raise our collective voice and say, let’s get done with this. While the debate on the loss and damage fund continues, we should insist on the following: The money on the table is negligible, but let’s at least start with the 100 billion SDI initiatives available to the IMF and convert that into actions and positive outcomes. The developed economies should be held accountable for meeting their net zero targets at least by 2040. If they fail to stay in line with these targets, such countries should be required to compensate the rest of the world. These funds can help with the financing requirements for climate mitigation, adaptation and climate prosperity of developing nations. The global ambitions regarding finance of combating climate change have so far been woefully inadequate. It is also not just public funds that can resolve the magnitude of the issue at hand.
The Bridgetown initiative has clearly articulated the need for using the balance sheets of the NDBs to provide guarantees and leverage private funds to be channelled towards addressing climate change issues in developing nations. Additional volumes of concessionary financing at scale through the NDB are also a crucial requirement. Climate-related investments provide long-term returns, which cannot be financed by fragmented short-term high-cost private financing. The prevailing situation where global monetary tightening is pushing up market-linked lending rates of NDBs and the IMF is also an opportune moment to consider options of capping such rates or other means to avoid further fiscal burdens on borrowing nations. All three initiatives above would have been on the agenda in a serious manner long time ago had there been a greater voice of developing nations and the global south in the decision-making authorities of these global financial institutions. We must also press ahead with Kenya’s call for debt relief for low-income countries.
Parallel to these settings, we must finalize the loss and damage funds. In my view, all developed countries must contribute to the fund. We must also call for voluntary contributions by the developing countries, especially those exceeding the 2050 target. The Vanuatu Resolution has taken the issue of climate change before the International Court of Justice. This is the start of a process of recognizing climate justice as a human right. It is the core of the right to life. All other rights flow from the right to life. Countries unwilling to do their part to stop the climate crisis are guilty of committing genocide.”
Mr. Ali Salajegheh the Vice President of Iran and Head of Iran’s Department of Environment, Ms Elizabeth Maruma Mrema , Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Minister of Environment Mr Naseer Ahmed, Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr Ali Sabry, Justice Minister Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha, Fisheries Minister Mr Douglas Devananda, President’s Senior Adviser on National Security and Chief of Presidential Staff Mr Sagala Ratnayaka, Chief of Defence Staff General Shavendra Silva, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Aniva Marie Clarke, Representative of the Major Group for Children and Youth and representatives from member countries of the Asia Pacific region and professionals participated in this event.
Following the event, President Wickremesinghe held bilateral discussions with Mr. Ali Salajegheh the Vice President of Iran. The duo discussed climate changes in their respective countries and the obstacles they face as a result.
Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane meets State Secretary Thomas Bagger of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Aruni Wijewardane met her counterpart State Secretary Thomas Bagger of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin on 27 September 2023. Also present at the meeting were Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Germany Varuni Muthukumarana and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting took place during an important point in Sri Lanka-German bilateral relations where the two countries are celebrating 70 years of diplomatic ties.
At the outset, State Secretary Bagger welcomed the meeting with Foreign Secretary Wijewardane and stressed that this meeting would pave the way for new avenues for future cooperation.
Referring to the excellent relations that exist between Sri Lanka and Germany, Foreign Secretary Wijewardane appreciated the German assistance in enabling Sri Lankan businesses, particularly SMEs to gain better access to international markets. She stressed that Sri Lanka is looking for more prospects in the German market for healthcare workers and export of ICT services on a sustainable basis. The two sides also discussed furthering of vocational training education in Sri Lanka.
Foreign Secretary Wijewardane expressed appreciation for Germany’s longstanding development cooperation partnership with Sri Lanka, and requested continuation of direct development aid, taking note of the present economic situation in the country. She also appreciated the assistance extended to Sri Lanka in diverse fields by German Foundations, including Frederick Naumann Foundation.
Foreign Secretary Wijewardane apprised State Secretary Bagger of Sri Lanka’s recent progress in stabilizing the economy and reconciliation, and emphasized the ongoing efforts to achieve reconciliation through domestic mechanisms. She appreciated the significant role played by the Paris Club, including Germany, in Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring process.
The two sides also discussed the significance of the Indo-Pacific region, and future collaboration, specifically under the framework of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which will be chaired by Sri Lanka for two years from October 2023.
Noting Germany’s increased pledges to international climate financing, Foreign Secretary Wijewardane encouraged German assistance for Sri Lanka’s initiatives on the Climate Prosperity Plan, International Climate Change University, and the strategy for green growth centered on renewable energy generation.
Both sides agreed on the importance of convening the bilateral political consultations at the Foreign Secretary level in a regular manner and to identify priority areas for future cooperation.
Foreign Secretary Wijewardane was a member of the official delegation accompanying President Ranil Wickremesinghe during his working visit to Germany from 27-30 September 2023. During his visit, President Wickremesinghe held discussions with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and addressed the inaugural Berlin Global Dialogue.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
Post Master General Calls on Ambassador
Post Master General Ruwan Sathkumara who is currently in Riyadh taking part at the 4th UPU Extraordinary Congress called on the Ambassador at the embassy
President congratulates new President of Maldives
In a significant diplomatic gesture, President Ranil Wickremesinghe extended warm congratulations to Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, the newly elected President of the Maldives, solidifying the bonds of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.
President Wickremesinghe conveyed his felicitations to President Muizzu through a personal telephone call, demonstrating the importance of the occasion. During their conversation, President Wickremesinghe expressed his heartfelt desire to elevate the existing close and friendly bilateral relations into a robust and multi-faceted partnership.
Both leaders emphasized their commitment to the betterment of the citizens of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with President Wickremesinghe highlighting the pivotal role of enhanced economic cooperation. This expanded cooperation aims to encompass diverse fields such as education, healthcare, bilateral trade, and investment, promising mutual growth and development.
President Wickremesinghe also expressed his anticipation of working closely with President Muizzu to achieve these shared goals, reaffirming the dedication of both countries to a brighter and prosperous future. President Wickremesinghe expressed his sincere hope for the Maldives to thrive under President Muizzu’s leadership.
This gesture not only signifies the strong bond between the Maldives and Sri Lanka but also underscores the importance of regional cooperation and diplomacy in the pursuit of shared prosperity.