A high-level Sri Lankan delegation attended the US Forum on Indian Ocean Ports and Supply Chains in Washington, DC last week, joining counterparts from Bangladesh, India and the Maldives in a State Department-convened gathering aimed at expanding US private-sector investment across Indian Ocean ports, The Island reported.
The forum was opened by US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Deputy Assistant Secretary Bethany Morrison alongside senior US officials and private-sector representatives, who framed secure and well-connected regional ports as both an economic imperative and a US national security priority, the US Embassy in Sri Lanka said.
Delegates from the four Indian Ocean nations explored opportunities in port development, digital transformation with cybersecurity safeguards, trade financing and supply-chain efficiency. Organisers said the meeting reinforced the United States’ commitment to a “free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific.”
The Sri Lankan delegation was facilitated by the US Embassy in Colombo and led by Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku and Presidential Special Envoy for Foreign Direct Investment Hanif Yusoof. The team also included Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake, Shippers Academy Colombo CEO Rohan Masakorala, Sri Lanka Logistics and Freight Forwarders Association Chairman Andre Fernando, Colombo West International Terminal Chief Commercial Officer Dashma Karunaratne, ABC Shipping Chairman John Shiran Dissanayake, and Office of the Presidential Special Envoy Chief of Staff Aritha Wickramasinghe.
During the visit the delegation toured the Port of Baltimore, where it met port officials and industry stakeholders to study port operations, logistics, innovative equipment and digital platforms, and supply-chain management practices that support one of America’s key maritime gateways.
The US forum lands as Washington continues to court Indian Ocean port states for closer infrastructure ties, even as Colombo balances Chinese, Indian and US investment interests across Colombo’s WCT-II and ECT expansions and the Trincomalee oil hub being pursued jointly with India and the UAE.
