Sri Lanka and Russia have agreed to expand bilateral cooperation in fisheries, maritime trade and economic relations, with a focus on increasing Sri Lankan seafood exports to the Russian market and modernizing the island’s deep-sea fishing sector.
The agreement was reached during a high-level meeting today (28) at the Ministry of Fisheries between Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Levan S. Dzhagaryan and the Minister of Fisheries, Aquatic and Ocean Resources, Ramalingam Chandrasekar.
During the discussions, Minister Chandrasekar expressed Sri Lanka’s interest in expanding exports of high quality marine products, including tuna, prawns and crabs, to Russia. The two sides discussed compliance with Russian food safety standards, health certification procedures and international quality requirements to facilitate broader market access.
The meeting also focused on utilizing advanced Russian technology, fishing vessels, and equipment to modernize Sri Lanka’s deep sea fishing operations and minimize post harvest losses.
Minister Chandrasekar highlighted the need for Russian investment and technical assistance to upgrade local fishing harbors, enhance cold storage infrastructure and improve marine product handling.
Ambassador Dzhagaryan reaffirmed Russia’s commitment to strengthening trade ties, supporting infrastructure development, and expanding technical cooperation. Both parties further agreed to foster collaboration between research institutions to assess fish stocks sustainably, while exploring capacity building and training programmes for Sri Lankan fishermen and fisheries officials.