Cabinet approval has been granted to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and Northern Ireland for cooperation in the Maritime States Partnership Programme.
According to the Sri Lankan Government, the Governments of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland are leading global initiatives on ocean health today.
Special attention has been focused on providing necessary funds to partnership countries by protecting at least 30% of the global ocean by 2030 and by establishing the Blue Planet Fund worth 500 million euros to achieve marine conservation and a sustainable blue economy.
The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has designed a range of programs at both bilateral and multilateral levels to achieve the Fund’s ambitions.
Sri Lanka has been identified as a country eligible for support under one of those programs, the “Maritime States Partnership Program”.
Accordingly, it has been proposed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding between Sri Lanka, and the Governments of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland for cooperation for the Maritime States Partnership Programme.
The comments of the Department of Foreign Resources and other relevant Ministries have been sought on the draft MoU.
Accordingly, the Proposal presented by the Minister of Environment to sign the relevant Memorandum of Understanding was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. (NewsWire)