Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism of Sri Lanka, Vijitha Herath visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 7 – 11 November 2025 to participate at the 26th General Assembly of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) held in Riyadh. Addressing the UNWTO General Assembly, Minister Herath reiterated Sri Lanka’s commitment to sustainable tourism and extended strong support for the “Riyadh Declaration on the Future of Tourism”. He emphasized that the Declaration’s focus on innovation and digital transformation aligns with Sri Lanka’s national tourism and digitalization strategy.
On tourism sector, Minister Herath held productive meetings, on the sidelines of the UNWTO General Assembly, with his counterpart Ministers of Tourism from India, Maldives, Egypt, South Africa, Costa Rica, UAE and Türkiye and explored bilateral cooperation in tourism industry. Minister also met with the Saudi Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb as well as the newly elected Secretary General of the UNWTO Shaikha Al-Nowais.
On bilateral front, one of the key highlights of the visit was the first bilateral meeting held between the visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Vijitha Herath and his counterpart Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. The two ministers reviewed the longstanding and friendly relations between the two countries and discussed ways and means to further deepen political, economic, and people-to-people cooperation. Minister Herath also briefed his Saudi counterpart on Sri Lanka’s political stability, investor-friendly environment and extended invitation to Saudi businesses to explore investment opportunities in potential sectors in Sri Lanka such as tourism, energy, logistics and infrastructure. Both sides agreed to initiate bilateral political consultations in the first quarter of the year 2026 and to facilitate high-level visits between the two countries. Minister Herath handed over a letter to Saudi Foreign Minister extending an invitation from the Government of Sri Lanka to the Crown Prince and Prime Minster of Saudi Arabia, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz AlSaud.
As a symbolic gesture to mark the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan presented a set of commemorative postal stamps issued by the Saudi Post to Minister Herath. The commemorative stamps remind the bridges that both friendly nations have built over the decades reflecting their bonds of friendship and partnership underpinned by mutual understanding and respect.
Another bilateral landmark of the visit was the launch of the first- ever Sri Lanka–Saudi Arabia joint Business Council by signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC) and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) held at the FSC headquarters in Riyadh. The launch was witnessed by Minister Herath. The MoU was signed by Hassan Al-Huwaizi, Chairman of the Federation of Saudi Chambers and Keerthi Gunawardane, President of the FCCISL (joining virtually), and exchanged by Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ameer Ajwad and the Chairman of FSC, Al-Huwaizi. As a long-awaited B2B platform, the establishment of a joint Business Council between the two countries has become a big breakthrough to serve as a catalyst to further enhance private sector interactions between the two countries in the days to come.
On the foreign employment front, Minister Herath inaugurated the Sri Lanka Pavilion on 10th November 2025 at the 7th Human Resource and Labour Services (HRLS) Expo 2025 in Riyadh, where 26 Sri Lankan Foreign Employment Agencies (SLBFE-licensed) participated. Minister underscored the importance of promoting Sri Lankan skilled manpower in the Kingdom and enhancing remittance inflows through safe and structured migration.
Minister Herath also participated on 11th November 2025 at the opening ceremony of the TOURISE event, a Saudi initiative which aims at building a global tourism sector that is sustainable, equitable and future-focused. Tourise will serve as a year-round platform where bold ideas become real-world solutions. On the sidelines of the event, Minister met with the CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) Sultan Abdulrahman Al-Marshad and conveyed Sri Lanka’s deep appreciation for the SFD’s longstanding development assistance and continued disbursement of the funds to the development projects in Sri Lanka despite Sri Lanka’s recent economic downturn.
A tour for the Minister was organized by Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Group’s (HMG) at state of the art Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Hospital, Al- Sahafa, for which IT development office operates in Colombo with 250 IT professionals. Minister Herath also held talks with the senior management of the HMG on the potential investment opportunities in Sri Lanka’s healthcare and medical tourism sectors.
In addition, CEO of GTN global and his team who have invested in Sri Lanka’s IT sector, called on Minister Herath and explored opportunities for investment in AI technology, aquaculture, and wellness tourism in Sri Lanka. AVIAREPS Gulf Travel Group also met with the Minister and discussed ways and means to promote Sri Lanka tourism in the gulf region.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh organized meetings with the members of Sri Lankan community representing all walks of life from Riyadh, Dammam, Alkhobar and Jubail regions for the visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment, and Tourism of Sri Lanka at the Embassy premises. Minister Herath also held discussion with the staff of the Embassy to discuss their achievements in respective areas and challenges faced.
Minister Vijitha Herath’s visit to Saudi Arabia has opened a new chapter in the bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia at a time when both countries commemorate 50 years of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Riyadh
16 November 2025
