On Kazakhstan-Sri Lanka Relations
Diplomatic relations were established on 29 June 1992.
In July 2025, the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan was opened in Colombo.
Since July 24, 2025, Sergey Viktorov has been serving as the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Sri Lanka.
Since March 4, 2026, Mrs. Shobini Gunasekera (in Moscow) has been concurrently serving as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Political Cooperation
High-level contacts:
2011: Meeting between the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev and the President of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.
2012: Official visit of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa to the Republic of Kazakhstan resulted in the signing of Agreement on tourism.
2023: President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev met with President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe of Sri Lanka on the sidelines of the Berlin Global Dialogue forum.
High-level contacts (ministerial level):
2012: Working visit by Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka Gamini Lakshman Peiris to Kazakhstan resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the foreign ministries.
2021: Meeting between Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan M. Tleuberdi and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka G.Peiris on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
2024: Meeting of Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan M.Nurtleu with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka A.Sabri on the sidelines of the BRICS ministerial meeting in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia).
Other contacts:
2012: Inter-MFA consultations were held in Colombo. The Kazakh delegation was headed by the Director of the Asia and Africa Department, and the Sri Lankan delegation was headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2016: Commissioner of EXPO-2017 R.Zhoshybayev visited Sri Lanka.
2024: The 2nd round of political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka was held in Astana. The Kazakh delegation was headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan A.Bakaev, and the Sri Lankan delegation was headed by First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka A.Wijevardane.
Inter-parliamentary and inter-party cooperation
2014: Visit by a delegation of the “Nur Otan” Party led by B.Baybek to participate in the 8th General Assembly of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties. As part of the event, a meeting was held with the President of Sri Lanka, the Chairman of the Freedom Party of Sri Lanka M.Rajapaksa.
2017: Visit to Sri Lanka by members of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan to participate in the 12th General Assembly of the Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development.
Multilateral Cooperation
2014: Visit of the Special Envoy of the President of Sri Lanka, N.S. De Silva, to the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2015: Visit of the Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs and Public Order, C.Perera, to Astana to participate in the Conference of Central and South Asian Countries on Countering Violent Extremism.
2020: The First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Admiral J.Colombage, participated in the regular meeting of the CICA Committee of Senior Officials in an online format.
2021: J.Colombage participated in the 6th Council OF Ministers of the CICA in an online format.
2022: State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Taraka Balasuriya, participated in the sixth anniversary CICA Summit in Astana.
Trade and Economic Cooperation
In January-March 2026, the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Sri Lanka amounted to 2.2 million US dollars (exports increased by 74.3 times, imports increased by 6.8%), which is 15.5% higher than in the same period in 2025.
In 2025, the volume of mutual trade reached 10.3 million dollars (exports increased by 23.04 times, imports increased by 0.4%), which is 11.47% higher than in 2024.
The main export goods include electrical insulators (99.5% share), bed linen, table linen, toilet linen, and kitchen linen (0.15% share), household items and parts made of aluminum (0.11% share), bags, suitcases, cases, briefcases, cases, and women’s handbags (0.06% share), T-shirts and sweatshirts made of knitwear
(0.06% share), knitwear hats (0.05% share), and paper and cardboard labels (0.04% share).
The main import goods include tea (44.7% share), prefabricated building structures (11.7% share), T-shirts and sweatshirts made of knitwear (5.6% share), paper and cardboard labels (3.2% share), men's textile clothing (3% share), men's knitwear (2.9% share), women's knitwear (2.4% share), and others.
Cooperation in the field of tourism
On April 22-24, 2026, Sri Lankan travel companies participated in the 24th International Tourism Fair “KITF-2026” in Almaty.
Sri Lanka has become one of the most popular tourist destinations, with 9,821 Kazakh tourists visiting the country in 2025. From January to March 2026, the number of Kazakh tourists has already reached 3,579.
Between December 25, 2025, and February 19, 2026, the national carrier of Kazakhstan, “Air Astana” JSC, operated seasonal charter flights on the Almaty-Colombo-Almaty route twice a week, significantly contributing to the increase in tourist arrivals.
Currently, the Sri Lankan government is considering the possibility of issuing free entry visas for Kazakh citizens. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the host country, citizens of 40 countries will be allowed to enter the country with a visa (e-visa) without paying consular fees. In addition to Kazakhstan, the list includes Russia, Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, India, China, Japan, Canada, Spain, and others. This list is currently undergoing the final approval process in the Sri Lankan Parliament. This development indicates that the Sri Lankan government is committed to further strengthening ties with Kazakhstan while prioritizing relations with major regional powers.
Cultural and Humanitarian Cooperation
In 2004, following the devastating tsunami that struck Southeast Asia, Kazakhstan sent a humanitarian aid package to Sri Lanka.
In June 2013, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and the Minister of Industry and Commerce sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan, requesting humanitarian assistance for Muslim families who were forcibly displaced from the northern regions of Sri Lanka during the 30-year war. In accordance with the Government of Kazakhstan’s resolution (No.1358 dated December 20, 2013), Kazakhstan provided humanitarian aid in the form of monetary assistance worth 200,000 US dollars.
On July 2, 2018, the Mayor of Colombo participated in the Silk Road Mayors’ Forum in Astana.
On September 3-4, 2019, renowned Sri Lankan writers A.Ferrey and P.Jayasekara attended the First Asian Writers’ Forum in Astana.