ECONOMYNEXT- Sri Lanka has held a prepatory meeting for an Integrated Field Exercise under the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Defence Ministry said, though the international body in charge and the Foreign Minister said the event had been postponed.
Sri Lanka announced in 2023 that it had ratified the agreement the country signed in 1996. Soon after signing the agreement a in 1996, an auxiliary seismic station was set up in Pallekele, Kandy.
Work under the treaty including on-site inspection (OSI) events are carried out by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, headquartered in Europe.
After 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, officials said.
“The CTBTO and the Government of Sri Lanka have mutually agreed to postpone the IFE from 2025, but remain focused on delivering it at the earliest feasible date,” an official at CTBTO’s Public Information Section told EconomyNext on January 3 in response to an emailed query.
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said earlier that the government has informed its decision on postponing the IFE to the CTBTO.
“We have informed them that we can’t hold it in 2025 and that we will have to postpone,” Minister Herath told EconomyNext on December 20.
“There was a cabinet decision to host it in 2025, but we have told them we can’t host it in 2025. We have not yet decided if it should be held in the future,” he said, adding that such ratification could be helpful for Sri Lanka in the future if it decides to use nuclear power in its energy mix.
The Defence Ministry, however, said Sri Lanka is poised to host the IFE25 under the CTBTO, and it is a landmark event focusing on the On-Site Inspection (OSI).
“…IFE25 is anticipated to bring significant economic and diplomatic advantages to the nation,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement on December 03.
“The exercise is expected to attract hundreds of international delegates, generating over 10 million Euros in revenue. This large-scale participation will not only boost the local economy but also underscore Sri Lanka’s capability to organize advanced and multinational events.”
“By hosting IFE25, Sri Lanka affirms its growing stature in global disarmament initiatives and its dedication to fostering international security and arms control efforts.”
The IFE has been 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.
The Integrated Field Exercise is a simulated field exercise for technical experts and scientists from CTBTO and the international community will arrive in Sri Lanka.
CTBTO reconnaissance team had already identified a land area adjacent to the Maduruoya National Park in the Eastern Province.
There have been some concerns raised the allocation of such vast land area in the Eastern province could have impact on tourism industry and lands accessed by private entities and the general public, according to officials familiar with the process.
Exercise which 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.
Wildlife may be displaced due to human presence and noise during the exercise.
The Integrated Field Exercise is likely 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.
One 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.
CTBTO has been exploring a possible visit of its Executive Secretary Robert Floyd’s visit this month which includes meeting with President Dissanayake, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya and Foreign Minister Herath among many others, according to officials. (Colombo/January 5/2025)
