Sri Lanka is seeking closer maritime cooperation with the United States, extending an invitation to Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chair Laura DiBella to visit Colombo, according to reports in EconomyNext and the Daily Mirror.
A high-level Sri Lankan delegation that travelled to the United States in June met FMC leadership and its legal team in Washington to discuss ocean shipping oversight and supply chain reliability. The meeting was arranged through Dustin Bickel, the Indo-Pacific coordinator at the US Embassy in Colombo, on the sidelines of the US Forum on Indian Ocean Ports and Supply Chains.
The delegation included Deputy Minister Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku, Presidential Special Envoy Hanif Yusoof, Sri Lanka Ports Authority Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake and Shippers Academy chief executive Rohan Masakorala, along with Aritha Wickramasinghe and Shiran Dissanayake.
During the talks, officials examined how the FMC regulates international ocean transport and manages supply chain reliability. According to a statement, the delegation extended an official invitation to DiBella to visit Sri Lanka to showcase the country’s role as a central Indian Ocean logistics hub.
The engagement formed part of a US State Department-funded initiative aimed at strengthening trade ties across the Indo-Pacific region. As part of the tour, the Sri Lankan team also visited the Port of Baltimore, where officials studied automated systems and digital logistics tools with a view to modernising operations at the Port of Colombo.
