The US is not keen to pursue a new iteration of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Sri Lanka at present, visiting US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Afreen Akhter told The Sunday Morning last week.

Responding to a question, Akhter said that entering into a SOFA with Sri Lanka was not being considered by the US at present. “I don’t think that is something we are considering at the moment,” Akhter said.

The attempt to negotiate the bilateral SOFA between both countries caused much controversy in 2019, after part of its content was leaked to the local press.

However, the visiting DAS stressed that the US continued to work closely with Sri Lanka, especially on maritime security, and highlighted the gifting of the third decommissioned ex-US Coast Guard cutter to the Sri Lanka Navy. 

Akhter also said that a specialised maritime patrol aircraft, which is to be gifted to Sri Lanka by the US, was expected to arrive in the island next year.

“We are really focused on building Sri Lanka’s maritime security capability through the gifting of the coast guard cutter, the King Air aircraft which will come next year, and through specialised training and other platforms and systems,” Akhter stated.

She added that the US considered Sri Lanka a valuable partner in the Indo-Pacific region.