The recent visit of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Deputy Chief Economist Fergus Cumming reaffirms the UK’s commitment to Sri Lanka, the British High Commission in Colombo said.
Cumming, during a three-day visit to Colombo from March 18 to 20, engaged in constructive discussions with the key stakeholders, including the Finance state minister, Central Bank governor, International Monetary Fund (IMF) representatives, diplomatic counterparts and opposition parties. He also met with the senior representatives of the leading private sector entities such as HSBC, Standard Chartered, the Ceylon Chamber and Chamber of British Business. 

The visit reaffirmed the UK’s commitment to Sri Lanka, importance of adherence to the IMF programme and highlighted the opportunities and challenges of long-term economic reform, the British High Commission said in a statement. Noting that a key part of the job is to engage with the countries, where the economic context is important for the ongoing partnership, Cumming said the ties between the two countries are “rich, historic and 
run deep”. 
“The relationships between our governments, our people and our economies have stood the test of time and we look forward to strengthening these into the future,” said Cumming in the statement.