Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2015-11-11

Bilateral Air Service Agreement between Sri Lanka and Serbia

- Serbia, an upper middle income country in the Eastern Europe contributes largely to its national income through the Tourism Industry and has entered into bilateral Air Service Agreements with 13 countries of the European Union. Considering the increasing demand in the tourism sector in Sri Lanka, it appears that the aviation links that Serbia has created with other countries can also be used to develop Aviation and Tourism industry in Sri Lanka. Especially, by granting permission to aeroplanes of Serbia to arrive and depart from the Mattala Airport, under the proposed bilateral agreement, will pave the way for the utilization of that Airport in an effective manner. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Nimal Siripala de Silva, the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation, to sign the already initialed Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and Serbia in officer level, by an accredited representative and thereafter, to give effect to the said agreement, was approved by the Cabinet.