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Sri Lanka’s Minister of Environment Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera meets with H. E. Ban Ki-moon, President of the Assembly and Chair of the Council of GGGI, in Republic of Korea

On October 7th at the UNEP Asia-Pacific ministerial dialogue in Suwon, Republic of Korea, a high-level bilateral meeting took place between Hon. Mahinda Amaraweera, Minister of Environment of Sri Lanka and H. E. Ban Ki-moon, President of the Assembly and Chair of the Council of GGGI and 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr. Anil Jasinghe, Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Dr. Frank Rijsberman, Director General, GGGI were also present at this bilateral meeting.

The Government of Sri Lanka became the 30th member-country of GGGI on 13 January 2019, with the Ministry of Environment as its direct government counterpart. GGGI’s priority strategic interventions to support a Country Planning Framework for Sri Lanka developed through several rounds of consultations with the Government, supports the Government to achieve its green growth objectives in the 2020-2024 period. The updated version has been shared in early October, with the Ministry of Environment for review.

Key thematic areas identified by GGGI, in consultation with the Sri Lankan Government in support of government’s priority goals to help achieve the country’s SDG and updated NDC targets (July 2021), are climate resilience through strengthening of the National Adaptation Planning, sustainable transport, green energy, and forest cover increase/mangroves restoration.

The bilateral meeting between Hon. Mr. Mahinda Amaraweera and H.E. Ban Ki-moon covered a range of topics, exploring areas of future collaboration in a longer-term green growth strategy and road map on a national green development agenda, to guide the recently appointed Presidential Task Force on ‘Creating a Green Sri Lanka with Sustainable Solutions to Climate Change’ linked to Sri Lanka’s investment planning, and national priorities, especially in a constrained economic environment and in line with a post Covid-19 green recovery.

Recently, GGGI supported the Ministry of Environment in the preparation of the 3-Year National Adaptation Planning Readiness Proposal that was approved for USD2.975M by the Green Climate Fund. The project is being implemented by GGGI (as the nominated project delivery partner), in close collaboration with the Climate Change Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment.