U.S. facilitates 8 Sri Lankans to participate in Indian Ocean Ports and Supply Chains Forum
The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka facilitated an eight-member high-level Sri Lankan delegation to the U.S. Forum on Indian Ocean Ports and Supply Chains in Washington, D.C., last week, the embassy said in a statement.
The forum brought together Indo-Pacific partners, port operators, and U.S. private sector leaders to leverage U.S. technology for resilient infrastructure and secure supply chains and to expand investment across the Indian Ocean region.
Delegates from Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka explored opportunities in port development, digital transformation with essential cybersecurity, trade financing, and supply chain efficiency.
“During their visit to the United States, the Sri Lankan delegates toured the Port of Baltimore, where they met with port officials and industry stakeholders to learn about port operations, logistics, innovative equipment and digital platforms, and supply chain management practices that support one of America’s key maritime gateways,” the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka said in a statement.
Sri Lanka delegation included Deputy Ports & Civil Aviation Minister Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku, Presidential Special Envoy for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Hanif Yusoof, Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Parakrama Dissanayake, and Shippers Academy Colombo (Pvt) Ltd’s CEO Rohan Masakorala.
It also included Sri Lanka Logistics and Freight Forwarders Association’s Andre Fernando, Chief Commercial Officer of the Colombo West International Terminal Dashma Karunaratne, ABC Shipping (Private) Limited’s Chairman John Shiran Dissanayake, and Chief of Staff at the Office of the Presidential Special Envoy for FDI Aritha Wickramasinghe.
The forum advances the United States’ strategic interest to deepen partnerships across the Indo-Pacific, connect regional governments with U.S. private sector investment and technology, and ensure the Indo-Pacific’s critical maritime infrastructure is built on a foundation of transparency, trust, and shared prosperity, the embassy said.
Geopolitical anxiety in Washington regarding the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and Sri Lanka’s maritime ports has increased as China eyes investments in Sri Lankan ports.
China already handles Sri Lanka’s deep southern Hambantota port on a 99-year lease basis and a terminal in the main Colombo port, which accounts for nearly 70 percent of transshipment business to India.
Sri Lanka occupies an extraordinarily strategic position in the center of the Indian Ocean, directly intersecting the primary maritime superhighways connecting the energy-rich Persian Gulf with the manufacturing hubs of East Asia.
For the United States and its regional allies including India, Japan, and Australia, Washington’s concerns are shaped by deep structural anxieties over maritime security, global trade vulnerabilities, and China’s expanding logistics footprint.
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