The Ministry of Mass Media warmly welcomed a delegation from the Embassy of France on 21 November 2025, led by H.E. Mr. Rémi Lambert, Ambassador of France, together with Mr. Matthieu John, Deputy Head of Mission and Counsellor for Press & Communication, Ms. Olivia Bellemere, Counsellor for Cooperation & Culture, and Mr. Youri DESVIGNE-HANSCH, Deputy Economic Counsellor.

The visit took place at the invitation of the Hon. Deputy Minister of Mass Media, Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathna.    The purpose of the meeting was to review and obtain guidance from the French Ambassador on debt restructuring related to the color-processing film machine purchased from France in 2000 for the Government Information Department.                                                             Although the machine was expected to support Sri Lanka’s film-processing needs for many years, it has, unfortunately, never been used since its acquisition.

The delegation also visited the Department of Information, where they inspected the machine, toured the newly renovated building, and viewed archived video reels — including screenings of old celluloid footage. Discussions focused on potential collaboration in documentation, archiving, and future film-screening initiatives between Sri Lanka and France.