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Bilateral relations between New Zealand and Sri Lanka are friendly, although visits from Sri Lankan delegations to New Zealand are rare. Former Foreign Minister Phil Goff visited Sri Lanka in March 2005 as part of a broader regional visit. Associate Minister of Finance Clayton Cosgrove visited Sri Lanka in September 2006 as part of his attendance at the Commonwealth Finance Ministers meeting. Other contact occurs on a regular basis in Commonwealth and UN meetings. There is a 6,000 strong Sri Lankan community in New Zealand comprising both Tamils and Sinhalese.
New Zealand exports to Sri Lanka are solid, with the trade balance continuing to be significantly in New Zealand’s favour. New Zealand exports to Sri Lanka have increased significantly from NZ$4.5 million in 1980 to NZ$168 million in the year to June 2005. This has largely been due to the growth in demand for dairy products (mainly milk powder) – about 90 per cent of New Zealand’s exports to Sri Lanka since the 1980s. Sri Lanka is now New Zealand’s fifth largest market for milk powder products and growing year on year.
In 1983, the New Zealand Dairy Board (now Fonterra) established a joint venture company in Sri Lanka, New Zealand Milk Products Lanka (today, New Zealand Milk Lanka is a wholly New Zealand owned company). Fonterra supply about 60% of Sri Lanka’s milk powder requirements.
New Zealand's annual imports from Sri Lanka have increased from around $10 million annually in the 1980s to $26 million in the year to June 2005. Tea is the largest import item; other imports include rubber, textiles and ceramics.
New Zealand has also been supportive of efforts to build peace in Sri Lanka. At the Tokyo Donors’ Conference in June 2003, New Zealand pledged $1.5 million over three years for reconstruction assistance in support of the peace process. The New Zealand Agency for International Development (NZAID) has provided NZ$700,000 to support UNICEF programme in “Catch-up Education and Children Affected by War and Displacement” project in the North/North East. It has also provided NZ$380,000 to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) demining programme. Sri Lanka also retains access to NZAID’s contestable aid programmes including the Asia Development Assistance Facility (ADAF) and the Voluntary Agencies Support Scheme (VASS).
NZAID support for Sri Lanka in 2004/05 was approximately $1 million across all programmes (excluding tsunami support). This included over $185,000 under the Voluntary Agency Support Scheme (VASS) for New Zealand-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs). NZAID is also currently funding two projects in Sri Lanka under the former Asia Development Assistance Facility (ADAF) worth a total of $1 million. There are currently 2 students from Sri Lanka who have been awarded NZDS scholarships. From 2007 there will be 9 scholarships earmarked for students from Sri Lanka, Nepal and Maldives.
The New Zealand Government has committed approximately $NZ 10 million for tsunami disaster recovery work in Sri Lanka. This has primarily been provided through the United Nations (UN) and New Zealand-based NGOs.
NZAID has worked closely with the Sri Lankan medical community in Auckland who have developed a tsunami reconstruction programme in the health area. This will benefit a number of districts and all ethnic groups and responds closely to local needs and priorities.
Sri Lanka and New Zealand are currently considering ways to improve air links between the two countries. top of page
Land Area - 65,610 sq km Population - 20.06 million (2005 est) - Capital City - Colombo - Language - Sinhala, Tamil, English
Political system - Republic with an Executive President who is Head of State, Executive, Government and Armed Forces - National legislature - Unicameral legislature; 225 members directly elected for six years by a system of modified proportional representation - Last election - 2 April 2004 (parliamentary) and December 1999 (presidential) - Next election due - April 2010 (parliamentary) and December 2005 (presidential) - Head of State - President President Mahinda Rajapakse - Head of Government - President Mahinda Rajapakse
GDP - US$ 21.9 billion (2005 estimate) - Real GDP growth - 5.2% (2004) - Exports - US$ 6.3 billion (2005 estimate) - Imports - US$ 8.9 million (2005 estimate) - Main exports - Textiles and garments 63%, Tea 13%, Precious/semi-precious stones 4%, - Current account balance - US$-211.8 million (2003 estimate) - Inflation - 11.6% (2005) -Gross external debt - US$ 11.6 billion (2005 estimate)
NZ Exports (FOB) - NZ$ 168 million (for year ended June 2005) - Main Exports - Dairy products 94%, Butter 1%, Telephone equipment 0.6% - NZ Imports (CIF) - NZ$ 26 million (for year ended June 2005) - Main Imports - Tea 48%, Rubber products incl tyres 3.3%, Cellulose 2.9%, Food preparations 2.4%
The Safetravel website provides a travel advisory for travellers to Sri Lanka [external link].
