A DELEGATION FROM THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE OF JAPAN VISITED SRI LANKA COAST GUARD SHIP SAMARAKSHA

Representing the Ministry of Finance of Japan, Mr. Kakehi Fumitaka, Deputy Director and Budget Examiner of the Foreign Affairs and Economic Cooperation Division, together with a delegation, undertook an official visit to the Sri Lanka Coast Guard Ship Samaraksha, berthed at the Port of Colombo, on 21^st August 2025.

This High Level Meeting is part of a series of discussions initiated following the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Indian and Sri Lankan Coast Guards in 2018. The primary focus of this year’s meeting was strengthening maritime security and safety through enhanced cooperation.Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), donated two Fast Patrol Vessels (FPVs), named SLCGS Samudraraksha (CG 501) and SLCGS Samaraksha (CG 502), to the Sri Lanka Coast Guard (SLCG) in 2018 to enhance their oil spill response capacity. These vessels were designed and built in Japan to support oil spill response operations and have been used in various drills and training programs with Japan Coast Guard (JCG) experts to improve the SLCG's ability to handle offshore and coastal oil spills effectively. During the visit Sri Lanka Coast Guard conducted a demonstration on removing oil from seawater.

In addition, six (06) representatives from the Ministry of Finance of Japan, two (02) officials from the JICA, as well as the Commanding Officer of SLCGS Samaraksha, Captain Hemnatha Ranasinghe, along with senior and junior officers and crew members of the Sri Lanka Coast Guard, were present. To mark this occasion, mementos were exchanged between the two parties.