Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – According to a report by the Vietnam News Agency's correspondent in South Asia, Vietnamese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Trinh Thi Tam met with Sri Lankan Minister of Environment and Chairperson of the Sri Lanka-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Group, Dammika Patabendi, in Colombo on November 25th to discuss measures to further deepen bilateral relations, parliamentary cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.
During the meeting, Dammika Patabendi expressed deep concern about the floods in Vietnam and offered her condolences to the affected people. She also inquired about the preparations for the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Vietnam's future priorities and main objectives, and expressed her admiration for Vietnam's rapid economic development.
Trinh Thi Tam recalled the visit of Vietnamese National Assembly Vice Chairman Nguyen Duc Hai to Sri Lanka in March 2025, believing that the visit injected important momentum into parliamentary cooperation between the two countries and further deepened the traditional friendly relations between the two nations.
Trinh Thi Tam also mentioned that Sri Lankan President Disanayak will pay a state visit to Vietnam in May 2025 and attend the 2025 UN Vesak Day celebrations. During this visit, both sides issued a joint statement reaffirming their determination to upgrade cooperation in areas such as parliamentary relations, environment, people-to-people exchanges, trade, investment, agriculture, fisheries, education, and culture. Since then, both sides have achieved many important results, including the Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Digital Economy's visit to Vietnam in October 2025 to attend the opening and signing ceremony of the UN Convention against Cybercrime; the third meeting of the Vietnam-Sri Lanka Joint Subcommittee on Trade to be held this December; a significant increase in the number of tourists visiting each other's countries; and efforts to open direct air routes by 2026.
Regarding cooperation in professional fields, Trinh Thi Tam highly praised the potential for cooperation between Vietnam and Sri Lanka in the environmental field, particularly in waste management, nature conservation, marine conservation, climate change response, and green growth; and proposed that both sides consider establishing a cooperation framework in this area to further promote parliamentary cooperation.
Damika Pattabendi welcomed the suggestions made by Trinh Thi Tam, emphasizing that Vietnam is an important partner of Sri Lanka in Southeast Asia, and that Sri Lanka is willing to continue expanding cooperation in areas that align with mutual interests. She also supported the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the environmental field.
As chair of the Sri Lanka-Vietnam Friendship Parliamentary Group, Damika Pattabendi pledged to continue cooperating with the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka on various activities throughout 2026, including the 15th anniversary celebrations of the reopening of the Vietnamese Embassy in Colombo, the construction of a Ho Chi Minh memorial area at the Colombo Public Library, and the promotion of parliamentary cooperation and exchange projects between the two countries.
On the other hand, both sides agreed to continue close cooperation to effectively implement the agreements reached by the two countries' senior leaders, striving to advance Vietnam-Sri Lanka relations and achieve tangible results. (End)
