The proposal was made by the Minister of External Affairs Prof. G.L. Peiris to establish diplomatic ties with Guatemala, Suriname, Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, St. Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Sri Lanka has diplomatic relations with 20 out of the 33 countries in Latin America that are UN members.

The government says promotion of Sri Lanka's diplomatic relations in a wide scale in this region will be another step forward in Sri Lanka's foreign policy.