Against the backdrop of Sri Lanka’s stabilising economy, Australia’s targeted and pragmatic assistance is supporting economic growth. Through targeted investments, Australia will continue to offer practical assistance and technical advice in support of key reform priorities.
Effectiveness and accountability
Australia is a longstanding and trusted partner with Sri Lanka in the areas of integrity, accountability and transparency. The program engages with provincial councils to address barriers to service access for women, people with disability and other marginalised groups.
Australia will look for opportunities to support the new government's reform efforts in this area. We will also leverage regional programs, such as the South Asia Regional Infrastructure Connectivity program, and explore the potential for blended finance investment into Sri Lanka.
A renewed focus on twinning and approaches that work across government will be critical to ensure Australia's support for government reform efforts is tailored and meaningful. We will focus our engagement on areas where Australia is considered world-leading or has specific expertise.
We will maximise the impact of the partnerships by providing supplementary training and knowledge sharing to improve institutional capabilities. The Australian Border Force and the Australian Federal Police will continue to support their Sri Lankan counterparts through capacity building and other engagement.
Democracy and civic engagement
Our primary focus will be to continue to work alongside the Election Commission of Sri Lanka to support the national electoral system's delivery of free and fair elections. This will include civic education and training and mentoring for marginalised groups, including youth, young women leaders and people with disability.