Romania and Sri Lanka Set to Address Evolving Labor Ties and Economic Potential
Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, Arun Hemachandra, is paying an official visit to Romania, from October 21 to 26, 2026, to co-chair the 6th round of bilateral political consultations.
Iulia Hau and Radio România Internațional, 24.10.2026, 07:31
On Thursday, October 22, Deputy Minister Hemachandra delivered a keynote address to the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry. While acknowledging strong workforce links, the minister emphasized that the economic partnership must expand into trade and investment. He noted that current trade figures from 2025 do not reflect the true potential of the two countries and called for a broader export basket. Arun Hemachandra urged Romanian businesses to invest in Sri Lanka’s tourism, renewable energy, ICT, logistics, manufacturing, and food processing sectors.
The official also highlighted Sri Lanka’s strategic location in the Indian Ocean as an ideal commercial gateway to fast-growing South Asian markets for Romanian companies. The Minister formally invited the Romanian business community to participate in Sri Lanka’s trade exhibition in Colombo due in January 2027.
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Bucharest will facilitate direct follow-ups to turn these discussions into active trade partnerships in sectors like transport, hospitality, and agriculture.
Also on Thursday, the Sri Lankan official met with State Secretary of the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Ana Tinca, to advance political, economic, and labor ties between Sri Lanka and Romania. The discussions highlighted the positive dynamics of the bilateral political dialogue and a shared interest in expanding and diversifying cooperation, with an emphasis on economic and trade relations, labor mobility, and intensifying people-to-people exchanges, particularly in the field of education.
The Romanian state secretary encouraged the development of direct contacts between the Chambers of Commerce of both countries and capitalizing on the potential of the Port of Constanța as an entry point for products from the Indo-Pacific region, including Sri Lanka, into the European Union market.
Regarding labor cooperation, she highlighted the contribution of Sri Lankan workers to the Romanian economy and referenced the new regulatory framework concerning foreign workers’ access to the labor market. The dialogue confirmed the importance of a safe and efficient management of labor migration, while fully respecting workers’ rights.
State Secretary Ana Tinca also reiterated Romania’s support for deepening relations between the European Union and Sri Lanka.
Both sides agreed on the importance of marking the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027 as an opportunity to consolidate the partnership between the two countries.
The agenda of the consultations also included an exchange of views on current developments on the international agenda, with a focus on the situations in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as aspects of cooperation within international organizations.
This official visit also features the inaugural meeting of the Joint Working Group on Labor Cooperation between the two nations, meetings with officials from the Ministry of Labor, bilateral talks with the Romanian State Secretaries for Labor and Internal Affairs.
Furthermore, he will meet with the President of the Sri Lanka-Romania Parliamentary Friendship Group. In addition to these political meetings, Deputy Minister Hemachandra is due to address business gatherings organized by the Chambers of Commerce in Arad and Constanța, and is slated to meet with members of the Sri Lankan community living in Romania.
Iulia Hau had a talk with Sri Lanka’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment, Arun Hemachandra, at the start of his visit to Romania, to discuss issues on the agenda of talks, with special emphasis on the Sri Lankan labour force in Romania, welfare and social integration:
