Sri Lanka's foreign ministry on Wednesday said that the study on the origin tracing of COVID-19 should be based on scientific and evidence-based methods and should not be politicized.

"Multilateralism and international cooperation provide the best possible means to effectively and sustainably defeat the pandemic," the ministry said in a statement. "It is equally important to conduct a comprehensive, inclusive, and impartial study on the origin of the virus.

"The next phase of the study should reflect the key findings of the previous WHO-led joint study report," it added.