MS to visit Russia

President Maithripala Sirisena would meet Russian leader Vladimir Putin next year, the Russian envoy has said.

President Maithripala Sirisena would undertake an official tour of Russia next year for bilateral talks with his counterpart Vladimir Putin, Russian Ambassador Alexander A. Karchava said yesterday.

The Ambassador said the embassy had already started work with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka on the visit.

“We expect some important agreements to be signed. It is a significant event because as far as I recall it is going to be the first official visit of a Sri Lankan head of State to Russia in decades,” he said.

Asserting that the political interaction and trade relations between our two countries had improved in recent times, he said Russia was traditionally one of the top importers of Sri Lankan teas.

However, he said the tourist arrivals from Russia had decreased recently due to the general economic challenges in the country.

“But we expect it to pick up soon, as nearly 7 million Russians, who are advised to refrain from going to Turkey and Egypt still need to choose the holiday destination. Sri Lanka is an attractive option. However, I regret to say that the price –quality of service ratio in Sri Lanka is absolutely inadequate. The Sri Lankan tourism industry should follow the example of their Thai colleagues,” he said.

“The most important development of bilateral trade relations in 2016 was the establishment and first meeting of the Russian- Sri Lankan Intergovernmental Commission on economic, trade, scientific and technical cooperation,” he said.

He said the next year was expected to be quite dynamic in terms of political exchanges between Russia and Sri Lanka.