28 July 2023 01:03 am Views - 1786
Ahead of the closure of the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo, Ambassador Trine Jøranli Eskedal takes questions from Daily Mirror on the reason for it and the future of
excerpts:
In September last year, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Oslo decided to make certain changes in its diplomatic presence abroad. These changes included closing several missions across the world, including our Embassy in Colombo.
The background for this difficult decision is the need to shift our diplomatic resources abroad. To uphold Norwegian interests, we see the need to scale up our presence in some locations, particularly in Europe. Due to budgetary constraints, this also entails drawdowns in other places. In this situation, it has become clear that it will not be possible to maintain a permanent mission in Colombo.
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I would like to reiterate that the closing of the Embassy in Colombo is not an expression of dissatisfaction on any matter and is based purely on overall administrative assessments related to the need for reallocation of the Foreign Service’s resources. Norway values the strong ties that exist between our two countries and wishes to maintain our excellent bilateral relationship. Relations as longstanding as ours involve extensive informal cooperation, people-to-people ties and a wide range of activities. Our aim is for the excellent ties between our two countries to continue.
Norway intends to accredit the Head of Mission and assign diplomatic staff at the Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi to Sri Lanka to ensure the continuation of the amiable and long-standing bilateral diplomatic relations. An Honorary Consul-General for Norway based in Colombo will also be announced in due course.
Q What does this mean for Norway’s relationship with Sri Lanka?
Norway has a long-standing and excellent relationship with Sri Lanka. We continue to work to preserve the good relationship going forward, even without a constant presence in Colombo. Historically, an important part of the rationale for our Embassy in Colombo was linked to our role in the peace and reconciliation process. Today, Norwegian involvement in Sri Lanka is more limited.
The closing of the Embassy does not imply that Norway will stop engaging in developments in Sri Lanka. Our countries have strong people-to-people links, many Norwegians visit Sri Lanka for tourism and there is deep concern and interest among the Norwegian population for the welfare of the Sri Lankan people. It is an important aim for the Norwegian government to maintain the relationship through other diplomatic means than a locally based embassy.
Q What does it mean for development assistance to Sri Lanka?
The closure of the Embassy in Colombo only concerns Norway’s physical presence in Colombo. It is not a decision about the future of our bilateral development cooperation as such. Norwegian aid to Sri Lanka, which goes back to the 1960s, has gradually reduced in recent times, as Sri Lanka transitioned to middle-income country status.
However, Norway still supports a range of ongoing, long-term development projects, such as support for employment and food security in former war-affected areas (through the ILO) and support to UNDP’s governance programme to realize SDG 16. A decision has already been made to transfer one cooperation project to Norad, for administration there under Norad’s Fish for Development programme. For the rest of the cooperation programme, an assessment will be made in future.
In 2021, total Norwegian development assistance to Sri Lanka was NOK 59.7 million, of which NOK 21 million was channelled through the Embassy. In 2022, during Sri Lanka’s economic crisis, Norway provided humanitarian support amounting to a total of NOK 18 million to the humanitarian response in Sri Lanka through UN organizations (NOK 13 million through the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and approx. NOK 5 million via the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
It is of course possible to continue development cooperation with Sri Lanka even without a locally based embassy. In other countries, such as Guatemala and Zimbabwe, Norway has maintained significant aid cooperation even though our physical presence in those countries has ended.
Q How will Norway help Sri Lanka to overcome the economic crisis?
We recognize that Sri Lanka currently finds itself in an exceptionally difficult situation, given the economic crisis, the humanitarian needs, and the change of government last year. One way in which Norway will help Sri Lanka is through the continuation of development cooperation with Sri Lanka. The same applies to the possibility of contributing humanitarian support in the future. Despite the decision to close the Embassy, Norway will continue to engage in the development of Sri Lanka.
However, it is also pertinent to mention that the underlying causes of the crisis in Sri Lanka require commitment from the government and the Sri Lankan people, and also multilateral solutions and cooperation. The international community is working together to contribute to support the Sri Lankan authorities in finding a way forward. Norway will continue to follow the situation and engage in constructive processes that contribute to sustainable solutions for Sri Lanka.
Q What is the latest focus of Norway - Sri Lanka bilateral ties?
As I mentioned earlier, in addition to development cooperation which went back to the 1960s, historically, an important part of the rationale for our Embassy in Colombo was linked to our role in the peace and reconciliation process.
However, the pillars of our commitment to Sri Lanka will not change and these continue to be our focus in Norway-Sri Lanka bilateral ties. These pillars include a commitment to human rights, including the issues of reconciliation, accountability, transitional justice, and the inclusion of minorities, after the civil war in Sri Lanka. We will continue to follow up on these issues, including through the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Q What is your assessment of Sri Lanka’s achievements on the ground as far as reconciliation is concerned and the implementation of the UNHRC resolution?
While Sri Lanka has made progress in some areas regarding reconciliation and the implementation of the UNHRC resolution, there are still significant challenges in the human rights situation in the country. Norwegian authorities will continue to follow the situation in Sri Lanka, including how the country’s authorities follow up on the resolutions adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
At the next meeting of the Human Rights Council, there will be a report presented on the implementation of the resolution on the situation in Sri Lanka. As before, Norway will engage actively on the issue, in close consultation with like-minded countries. An important pillar of Norway’s engagement in Sri Lanka is human rights. This commitment to the human rights agenda will continue even without an embassy located in Colombo.
Q How do you recommend Sri Lanka as a tourist destination?
Having lived in Sri Lanka for the past four years, I have had the opportunity to travel extensively in Sri Lanka. Your country is unique - beautiful with a wide array of attractions from beaches to nature, wildlife, cultural attractions and more. There is something for everyone. We have always been encouraging Norwegians to visit Sri Lanka, and we are pleased to see that the tourist arrival figures have increased in recent months. There are also some Norwegian businesses involved in the tourism sector in Sri Lanka.
Q Norway is a country with expertise in green energy. Will you encourage investments in Sri Lanka in this field?
Yes. Norway has actively promoted green energy-related investments in Sri Lanka, as there is great potential here. We believe that renewable energy is part of the answer to the key challenges faced by Sri Lanka in terms of climate change and economic dependence on oil, gas and coal imports.
Norwegian Development Fund (Norfund) has recently made their first investment of USD 4 million in renewable energy in Sri Lanka together with the French company Volta and the Sri Lanka partner Gaia Greenenergy Group. The plan is to accelerate the construction of solar power plants, developed and installed on the roofs of Sri Lankan schools. The investment is made from the new Norwegian Climate Investment Fund that was set up last year to be managed by Norfund. Sri Lanka is one of eight prioritized countries for the new fund. Other Norwegian private sector investors have also shown an interest in investing in green energy projects in Sri Lanka, and the current reforms in the sector are promising for this.
On the other hand, there is also ongoing university cooperation between the University of Western Norway and the University of Jaffna on renewable energy. As part of this cooperation, the Embassy in Colombo helped to set up a lab at the university and opened the first floating solar plant in Sri Lanka. The Embassy in New Delhi will continue to encourage investments and help to scale up activities in Sri Lanka in this field.