A high-level Sri Lankan delegation met with the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) Chair Laura DiBella, during an official visit to Washington, D.C. in June.
The special meeting was arranged through the regional Indo-Pacific coordinator Dustin Bickel from the US Embassy Colombo, coinciding with the US Forum on Indian Ocean Ports and Supply Chains held in the USA.
The delegation included key officials such as Deputy Minister Janitha Ruwan Kodithuwakku, Special Envoy to the President Hanif Yusoof, SLPA Chairman Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake, and Shippers Academy CEO Rohan Masakorala. The group met with the FMC Chair and the FMC legal counsel, to discuss the Commission›s role in international ocean transportation. The delegation extended an official invitation to Chair DiBella to visit Sri Lanka to showcase the nation›s role as a key Indian Ocean logistics hub.
This meeting was part of a State Department-funded forum aimed at strengthening Indo-Pacific trade. Additionally, the delegation visited the Port of Baltimore to study automation and digital logistics to support the modernisation of the Port of Colombo.