Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arun Hemachandra met with the Member of the Belgian Chamber of Representatives and President of the Belgium–Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Group, Franky Demon, on Thursday (20).

During the meeting, Deputy Minister Hemachandra outlined Sri Lanka’s ongoing engagements with Belgium and the European Union. 

Both sides also discussed strengthening parliamentary cooperation and expanding bilateral ties in friendship, trade, investment, and tourism. (Newswire)

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Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arun Hemachandra, is to participate in the 4th EU-Indo Pacific Ministerial Forum in Belgium, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. 

According to the Ministry, Deputy Minister Arun Hemachandra will undertake an official visit to Brussels from 19 to 22 November 2025 to attend the event. 

During the visit, the Deputy Minister will participate in the high-level sessions of the EU Indo-Pacific Ministerial Forum.

He will also engage in bilateral meetings with dignitaries and officials of the European Union on key areas of mutual interest. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Embassy in Belgium, which is also accredited to Luxembourg, hosted a “Country Seminar on Sri Lanka” in collaboration with the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, highlighting the growing opportunities for two-way trade and investment.

According to the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Brussels, the event held at the premises of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in October marked another milestone in fostering economic, commercial, and bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

In welcome remarks, International Affairs Lead at the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Sabrina Aksil, emphasized the strong complementarity between Luxembourg’s globally recognized expertise in finance, ICT, consulting, and logistics, and Sri Lanka’s dynamic efforts to diversify and expand its economy.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Luxembourg, Chandana Weerasena, highlighted Sri Lanka’s current economic developments and its forward-looking economic vision, underscoring how enhanced two-way trade and investment could create mutual benefits for both countries. 

Newly nominated Luxembourg Ambassador for Sri Lanka, Christian Biever, shared his perspectives on potential areas of collaboration and expressed his keen interest in strengthening bilateral economic ties of the two countries.

Chairman of the Board of Investment (BOI) of Sri Lanka, Arjuna Herath and the Executive Director (Investment Promotion & Research), Priyanka Samaraweera joined the seminar online and presented Sri Lanka’s current investment climate, reasons for selecting Sri Lanka as a promised destination for investments and emerging investment opportunities in Sri Lanka in manufacturing, services, infrastructure and agriculture sectors to drive FDIs.

Minister (Commercial) of the Sri Lanka Embassy, Thavishya Mullegamgoda, presented trade & export potential in Sri Lanka, highlighting sectors poised for mutually beneficial partnerships between the two countries, including sectors like finance, ICT services, logistics, high-tech manufacturing, R&D, and innovation. She also highlighted some challenges faced by the export sector in Sri Lanka, inviting companies in Luxembourg to explore those challenges as opportunities to create win-win situations for both sides in the future.

This event underscored the shared vision of both countries to further deepen bilateral engagement and promote sustainable, innovative, and inclusive economic and commercial collaborations between Sri Lanka and Luxembourg in the years ahead. (Newswire)

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The Sri Lanka Embassy in Belgium, together with the Port of Antwerp-Bruges International (PoABI) in Belgium, organized a two-day fact-finding visit for an official delegation from the Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) in June. 

According to the Sri Lankan Embassy, the fact-finding visit, conducted on 23 and 24 June, aimed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the port sector between Sri Lanka and Belgium.

The visit was a part of the ongoing dialogue between the SLPA and the PoABI initiated by the Sri Lanka Embassy in Brussels in mid-2024, to connect the Colombo Port and the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium, the second largest port in Europe. T K. G. L. Hemchandra, the Deputy Harbour Master (Trincomalee), Sriyantha Arampath & H. B. A. Subhashini joined the visit.

During the visit, the SLPA officials held discussions with senior staff of PoABI and Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Center (APEC). Vice President of International Relations & Networks at Antwerp-Bruges Port Authority, Luc Arnouts, also joined the discussion. Both sides initiated talks on a prospective Memorandum of Understanding  (MoU) aimed at fostering collaborations in key areas such as information & knowledge exchange, reciprocal visits, sharing of best practices, logistic cooperation, exchange of technical expertise & investment cooperation and support initiatives in port digitalization and innovation.

As part of the programme, the delegation visited the DP World Antwerp Gateway terminal on the left bank of the Scheldt River, where they were able to learn about automation in terminal operations. The team also visited the CMB TECH Hydrogen Refuelling Station in Antwerp.     

The insightful and engaging two-day programme provided the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) delegation with a comprehensive understanding of the operational landscape of the Port of Antwerp-Bruges. Through meaningful exchanges of ideas and perspectives, both parties laid a strong foundation for future collaboration between the two ports.

The Associate Manager-Regional Lead Indian Subcontinent at PoABI, Achille Sobry, APEC Training Executive-Key Account Indian Subcontinent at APEC, Ken Houtevelts, Minister Commercial of the Embassy, Thavishya Mullegamgoda, and Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Antwerp, Monique De Decker-Deprez, joined the meetings and site visits. (Newswire)

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A 31-year-old Belgium national has been arrested at the Katunayake Airport for financially defrauding Rs. 63,818,452 from the public. 

The Police said the man had defrauded the public by promising several construction projects. 

As the man had failed to deliver the promised projects, the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Unit at the Katunayake Airport had launched an investigation into the matter.

Based on the probe, the suspect was arrested at the Katunayake Airport on Monday (July 01). 

The CID Unit at the Katunayake Airport is conducting further investigations into the matter. (Newswire)

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