Ambassador Gonggrijp congratulated Prime Minister Rajapaksa for the “convincing election outcome” and commended the Government for the way Sri Lanka has managed the COVID19 pandemic. Upon Prime Minister Rajapaksa’s inquiring about the team of Dutch experts on board the MT New Diamond oil tanker, the two delegations agreed that providing training to Sri Lankan experts on handling such maritime incidents could be a potential area of collaboration for the two countries moving forward, given the historical maritime expertise of the Dutch.

The Netherlands is also involved in a number of other projects in Sri Lanka, including building hospitals and bridges, providing vocational training and a long-term project in Jaffna that would provide safe drinking water and better irrigation to the region. The service sector and integrated multi-crop agriculture were discussed as other areas for potential cooperation.