Minister Bimal Rathnayake’s visit to Nordic countries focuses on strengthening cooperation in transport, highways and urban development sectors

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development Bimal Rathnayke visited Nordic countries and met with his counterparts; Swedish Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Andreas Carlson, Finnish Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Rane and the Norwegian Minister of Transport Kamzy Gunaratnam.

During his meetings with the three Ministers, Minister Rathnayake briefed them on the revival of the Sri Lankan economy and the ongoing transformations in the country, with particular emphasis on developments in the transport sector. He explained about the ongoing efforts to improve the transport sector in Sri Lanka, including on safety standards to prevent the high number of fatal accidents and the need to develop safer, a more efficient and sustainable transport system in Sri Lanka. In this regard, Minister Rathnayake explored the possibilities of bilateral cooperation with Sweden, Norway and Finland to upgrade Sri Lankan transport, highway and urban development sectors and to improve road safety standards.

During his visit to Sweden, the Minister met with representatives of several Swedish agencies and companies operating in the transport and urban development sectors, including the Swedish Transport Administration ‘Trafikverket’; the Swedish National Road Consulting Agency ‘Sweroad’; the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute ‘VTI’, and the leading rail sector company ‘Alstom’. He also met with Swedish government officials, CEO’s and other business leaders at a reception hosted by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Stockholm. In addition, the Minister visited Slussen - a major multi-modal transportation hub being developed in Stockholm.

During his engagements with the Swedish Transport Safety Institute, Minister Rathnayake explored about Sweden’s ‘Vision Zero’ concept and its applicability to improve Sri Lanka’s road safety standards and safety infrastructure. ‘Vision Zero’ is a strategy and policy framework first introduced in Sweden and subsequently adopted by many other countries with the fundamental objective of eliminating deaths and serious injuries within the road transport system.

The Minister’s discussions with the Swedish Transport Administration and Sweroad was focused on strengthening the longstanding cooperation between Sri Lanka and these institutions, as well as exploring opportunities for continued collaboration and to exchange of expertise and knowledge in transport sector management. Particular emphasis was placed on identifying strategies to enhance road safety and improve the efficiency and sustainability of Sri Lanka’s transport and highway sectors.

The visit underscored Sri Lanka’s commitment to strengthening bilateral cooperation with the Nordic countries in the fields of transport, road safety and urban development. It also provided an opportunity to explore avenues for enhanced collaboration, knowledge sharing and the adoption of best practices and innovative solutions to address Sri Lanka’s transport and infrastructure challenges. These engagements are expected to further strengthen Sri Lanka’s longstanding bilateral relationships with the Nordic region.