Norwegian Prime Minister visits Mirissa
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At Mirissa.
Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s recent two-day official visit to the island include stopping over at the Mirissa fisheries harbour as fisheries sector is on the top of the agenda for technical cooperation between Norway and Sri Lanka. Norway has a longstanding and a strong history of development co-operation with Sri Lanka. The first development project started in 1967. Norway assisted the Sri Lankan fisheries sector for a long time. Among them, the famously known cooperation is “CEYNOR” which was a joint venture between Sri Lanka then known as (Ceylon) and Norway.
With assistance from Norway several projects to improve the fishing industry were undertaken throughout the coastal areas of the island. The CEYNOR funded factory was built in Karainagar and Gurunagar to build boats and to manufacture fishing nets, the embassy here said in a a media release. Apart from the initial projects on fisheries, Norwegian assistance for poverty alleviation mainly in the district of Hambantota and Monaragala for over a period of 20 years provided employment opportunities, strengthening grass root human capital and resources mobilization. Further to the above,
Prime Minister Solberg and her delegation travelled to Mirissa fishing harbour and the historical Galle Fort. She was accompanied by Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera. At the colourful Mirissa Harbour the delegation was greeted by local fishermen and harbour officials. Following the Norwegian Prime Minister’s visit, Sri Lankan Minister of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Mahinda Amaraweera with a delegation from the Ministry visited Norway to participate in the Nor-Fishing Exhibition and Conference. He also held discussions with Norwegian Minister for Fisheries Per Sandberg.