The need for US to directly engage with Sri Lanka on its own terms discussed

• Importance of domestic economic regulatory reforms to strengthen trade and increase incentives for American investments discussed

The need for the US to directly engage with Sri Lanka on its own terms - rather than to be seen as being affiliated with or pointedly against other countries with which Sri Lanka has important relations, was among the topics at a recent round-table discussion at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI), a statement from it said. 

The LKI said the present realities of Sri Lanka’s geopolitical balancing act in the Indian Ocean, how to strengthen the bilateral relationship with a more inclusive U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy, the importance of domestic economic regulatory reforms to strengthen trade and increase incentives for American investments, the visibility of U.S development in Sri Lanka, and how to build capacity for a stronger maritime security relationship were among other topics.

The LKI conducted discussions themed  “Strengthening Engagement in U.S.-Sri Lanka Relations”. The round-table was facilitated by Amb. Ravinatha Aryasinha, Executive Director of LKI, and featured  Keerthi Martyn, U.S. Fulbright Scholar who was hosted by the LKI and concluded a 9-month Fulbright research project, where he set out to understand and critically examine the avenues of mutual cooperation in the U.S.-Sri Lanka relationship. 

Mr. Martyn opened the discussion by presenting his research findings, where he outlined his analysis and explored the “Resetting, Restraint, and Re-engagement” of the U.S.-Sri Lanka bilateral relationship. Mr Martyn examined the missed opportunities in the post-conflict era and the necessity of a “reset” of relations, evaluated the current shifts and characterizations of U.S. and Sri Lankan foreign policies and the strategy of “restraint” in their execution. He identified areas of “re-engagement” in the political, geopolitical, economic, development, security, and multilateral regional spheres. 

The discussion provided an opportunity for a variety of stakeholders ranging from foreign policy practitioners and academics from Sri Lanka and the US, business leaders, and civil society to contribute to the debate. While acknowledging important contributions made by the US to Sri Lanka in the past, stakeholders also provided their perspectives on the sources of consternation and strategic gaps between prior engagements, and how to foster stronger relations moving forward.