ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister has expressed regrets for not proceeding with an Integrated Field Exercise (IFE) under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said citing the new government’s priority for domestic challenges.
Sri Lanka announced in 2023 that it had ratified the agreement the country signed in 1996. Soon after signing the agreement in 1996, an auxiliary seismic station was set up in Pallekele, Kandy.
Works under the treaty including on-site inspection (OSI) events were to be carried out by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, headquartered in Europe.
After the ratification, Sri Lanka’s Geological Survey and Mines Bureau (GSMB) had submitted a bid to the CTBTO to host a six week Integrated Field Exercise 2025 (IFE 2025) in about a 1000 square kilometres land area in the Eastern Province.
“The Government of Sri Lanka has informed the CTBTO that Sri Lanka is not in a position to host the CTBTO Integrated Field Exercise,” a CTBTO spokesperson said.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath last month said that the government has informed its decision on postponing the IFE to the CTBTO.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Niluka Kadurugamuwa said the move comes in line with the mandate given to the new government by the people at the presidential election in September and the Parliament election in November,
“The mandate ,,,,demands significant attention and dedication of human and financial resources to meet multiple national challenges including on the economic front,” Kadurugamuwa said.
“In view of the attention which requires a whole of government approach to address the domestic challenges and we regret not to proceed with hosting.”
The IFE has conducted similar events in Kazakhstan (2008) and Jordan (2014).
Since the signing of the ratification of the Treaty, the crisis-hit Sri Lanka has to pay an annual fee of over 25,000 Euros, a government document showed.
However, the government has not withdrawn from the treaty, which means it will have to pay this annual fee, a government official said.
The Integrated Field Exercise is a simulated field exercise for technical experts and scientists from CTBTO.CTBTO reconnaissance team identified a land area adjacent to the Maduruoya National Park in the Eastern Province for the IFE-2025.
Concerns were raised over the allocation of vast land area in the Eastern province citing that it could have an impact on tourism industry and lands accessed by private entities and the general public, according to officials familiar with the process.
The IFE includes activities such as ground surveys, drilling for samples, or the deployment of equipment could temporarily disturb local ecosystems, including soil and vegetation, they said.
The Integrated Field Exercise was to use seismic instruments, and other equipment which may cause minor physical alterations with ground-based methods, like trenching or shallow excavation likely to cause localized disturbances.
The exercise could involve releasing chemicals to simulate an explosion and create conditions that will enable them to monitor nuclear radiation in a controlled environment, the officials said. (Colombo/February 21/2025)
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