Newsroom

On December 26, 2004, a 9.1 magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean, killing an estimated 240,000 people in 14 countries across two continents. On the twentieth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, we reflect on the lives lost, recognize the heroes who helped save lives, and remember the overwhelming response by the international community to support those affected by unfathomable disaster.

The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce an additional commitment of US $24.5 million (Rs 7.2 billion) from the American people to further our long-standing investment in the people of Sri Lanka and our partnership. The additional funding was announced during a visit to Sri Lanka by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Assistant Administrator of the Bureau for Asia Michael Schiffer at an event at the Ministry of Finance. USAID Sri Lanka and Maldives Mission Director Gabriel Grau also participated in Friday’s ceremony alongside State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe. 

The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is supporting the Sri Lankan Ministry of Finance to modernize the country’s trade facilitation infrastructure through the implementation of Sri Lanka’s Trade National Single Window System (TNSWS). The TNSWS, when operational, will streamline the collection of information required for trade, leading to increased transparency and efficiency, reduced costs, and more potential revenue.

The U.S. Embassy is pleased to announce Sri Lanka’s USAID-funded Sri Lanka Energy Project (SLEP) has received top honors at the 2024 annual conference for the Society for International Development, the premier U.S. event for international development professionals. The award was given in recognition of the innovative solar-powered electric vehicle battery swapping stations owned and operated by Sri Lanka's Sling Mobility (Pvt.) Ltd., particularly highlighting the station located at the Center for Women’s Research in Colombo, which generates income to support the center’s activities. 

The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is supporting Sri Lanka' s efforts to improve its investment climate by enhancing access to commercial alternative dispute resolution (ADR).  This initiative has led to the U.S.-sponsored training and accreditation of 23 international commercial mediators in Sri Lanka, doubling the number of qualified mediators in Sri Lanka capable of offering businesses a faster and less expensive alternative to traditional court litigation for resolving disputes. 

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Women’s Development Federation (WDF) marked the successful culmination of the “Capacity Building Program on Trade and Market Access for Women Entrepreneurs” by honoring forty resilient women entrepreneurs from Sri Lanka's southern districts, including Hambantota, Galle, Matara, and Monaragala, at a ceremony in Weerawila.

Thanks to a nearly three-year partnership, supported by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), communities across Sri Lanka successfully prevented more than 4,600 metric tons of plastic – the equivalent of 496 million plastic bottles – from entering the ocean around Sri Lanka through the Clean Cities, Blue Ocean (CCBO) program.  

An innovative social media drama series focusing on career guidance and skills development for Sri Lankan youth sponsored by The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) YouLead project took top awards in the Sri Lanka division of a global marketing effectiveness competition.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL), launched the Electricity Dispatch Database and Dashboard,​ ​an online platform to enhance transparency in the management of Sri Lanka’s power distribution through a visualization platform. 

The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Ocean Plastics Reduction Activity, and Gunadamin Elephant House of Ceylon Cold Stores PLC (CCS) have solidified their alliance through a Memorandum of Understanding.  This collaboration aims to establish Sri Lanka’s inaugural plastic recyclable collection network and material recovery facility, led by women, emphasizing the separation and processing of recyclable materials.