Sergey Shishkaryov Discussed Creation of an International Transportation Hub on the Island with Sri Lanka’s First Deputy Defense Minister Kamal Gunaratne

Sergey Shishkaryov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Delo Group, took part in a meeting with Nikolay Patrushev, Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, and a delegation from the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka headed by Kamal Gunaratne, First Deputy Minister of Defense of Sri Lanka. The event took place on the platform of an international security conference held in St. Petersburg.

The meeting discussed, in particular, issues of strengthening bilateral relations. Sergey Shishkaryov told about the project to create a transportation hub in Sri Lanka, which is being developed by Delo Group of Companies. It is about construction of a new port terminal for transportation and transshipment of containers in the deep-water port of Hambantota with a capacity of up to 10 million TEUs.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Delo Group also held bilateral talks with Kamal Gunaratne, where the parties discussed the prospects for the development of transportation infrastructure on the island. Sergey Shishkaryov shared plans to assess cargo flows that could go through Sri Lanka, including in communication with the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas within the framework of the North-South international transportation corridor.

“We believe Sri Lanka can be a transportation hub for international trade, transhipment. The project we are considering is not only related to mutual trade between the countries, but also to additional opportunities for transit transshipment of cargo,” said the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Delo Group.

According to Kamal Gunaratne, Sri Lanka would like to join BRICS+. “Such participation will provide us with transportation, food and economic security,” he said, emphasizing the ample opportunities for fruitful cooperation.

The parties agreed to move on to a detailed discussion on the prospects and modalities of the transportation hub project.