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Sri Lanka Embassy in Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – (07-09-2026) In a significant milestone for Sri Lanka’s engagement with Africa, H.E. Ms. Nirmala Paranavitana became the first woman to serve as Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) following the presentation of her credentials to H.E. Mr. Claver Gatete, Executive Secretary of UNECA.
The historic appointment represents an important step in strengthening women’s leadership in Sri Lanka’s economic diplomacy and in advancing a more inclusive and practical approach to Sri Lanka-Africa relations. The engagement with UNECA provides a platform to translate Sri Lanka’s expertise, experience and private-sector capabilities into mutually beneficial partnerships with African countries.
Following the presentation of credentials, Ambassador Paranavitana held discussions with the Executive Secretary on strengthening economic diplomacy, South-South Cooperation, knowledge exchange, investment, technology transfer and private-sector partnerships between Sri Lanka and Africa.
The Ambassador briefed the Executive Secretary on a number of practical initiatives being explored with African countries. These include a rice knowledge-exchange programme with Burundi, in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI); cassava value addition and MSME development with the Central African Republic; power-sector optimisation and private-sector cooperation with Cameroon; textile and apparel value-chain development with Equatorial Guinea; and digital skills, youth and women’s entrepreneurship initiatives and establishment of a Disaster Management Centre in Chad, Ethiopia: youth entrepreneurship, digital skills and creating a digital platform for young entrepreneurs to connect with Sri Lanka young entrepreneurs which could lead to whole of Africa and globally, investment, agriculture, energy, textiles and education. Somalia: Coast Guard capacity-building, maritime security, fisheries, fish processing and Blue Economy. Djibouti: shipping, logistics, port services, maritime security and business cooperation. Together, these can form a Sri Lanka–Horn of Africa economic and maritime cooperation strategy.
- Further initiatives under consideration include youth entrepreneurship cooperation between Sri Lanka and Ethiopia, creating links between Sri Lankan and Ethiopian young entrepreneurs with potential for expansion to other African countries. Opportunities for Sri Lankan private-sector investment in Ethiopia, including dairy and milk processing and food manufacturing, were also discussed.
- In the area of disaster resilience, Sri Lanka is exploring cooperation with Chad on the establishment of a Disaster Management Centre, drawing on Sri Lanka’s experience in disaster preparedness, tsunami response and flood management.
- The discussion also covered maritime and fisheries cooperation with Somalia, including possible capacity-building support for the Somali Coast Guard drawing on Sri Lankan maritime expertise, as well as opportunities in fisheries and fish processing. With Djibouti, Sri Lanka is exploring enhanced cooperation in shipping and logistics and the possibility of developing a business platform addressing challenges affecting trade and shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Executive Secretary Gatete welcomed Sri Lanka’s proactive approach to economic diplomacy and highlighted the considerable potential for Sri Lankan expertise to contribute to African development priorities. He specifically identified rice, cassava processing and value addition, mini-hydropower and mini-grid solutions, pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing, and cotton-to-textile and garment value chains as areas offering significant opportunities for cooperation.
H.E. Mr. Gatete encouraged Sri Lanka to move beyond individual bilateral projects towards regional value chains serving larger African markets, noting that successful initiatives could be piloted in one country and subsequently replicated across neighbouring countries. He also indicated that Ethiopia could serve as a foundation for developing and demonstrating selected Sri Lanka–Africa cooperation models.
The Executive Secretary further encouraged Sri Lankan companies and investors to participate actively in UNECA and African Union platforms, including the Africa Business Forum, to identify investment, trade and commercial opportunities across the continent.
UNECA expressed its readiness to facilitate Sri Lanka’s engagement with relevant African countries, institutions and technical divisions, and to connect Sri Lankan expertise with identified African development requirements. The Mission will continue consultations with UNECA to identify a focused number of practical initiatives capable of generating tangible results and subsequently being scaled across Africa.
The meeting marks a significant new phase in Sri Lanka’s engagement with Africa, combining women’s leadership, economic diplomacy and practical South-South Cooperation to build long-term partnerships. Sri Lanka seeks to contribute its expertise and experience while creating new opportunities for trade, investment, innovation, employment and knowledge exchange with African partners.
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