Sri Lanka said that it has been successful in keeping its busy international shipping lane off South Dondra Head free from any piracy or criminal activity with the assistance of the Sri Lanka Navy and the Coast Guards Service.

Addressing the International Conference on Maritime Piracy on the theme “Maritime Piracy : enhancing public private partnership and strengthening the global response”, leader of the Sri Lanka delegation Deputy External Affairs Minister Neomal Perera stated that maritime piracy has become an issue of serious concern to countries of our region which are bordered by major international sea lanes, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.  

He called for countries of the region to cooperate by sharing information, modalities and options for prosecuting and imprisoning pirates and for capacity building in the affected states.  The Deputy Minister also shared Sri Lanka’s experience on the issue of arms smuggling by terrorist groups and called for cooperation in sharing intelligence in enhancing maritime domain awareness through joint and coordinated patrols as well as exercises.

The Conference which was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates was attended by Foreign Ministers and leading personalities of the region.