In the period of the Cold War both countries were the founders and among core members of the Non-Aligned Movement.

[1] Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Sirimavo Bandaranaike participated in the 1st Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Belgrade.

Yugoslav delegation took a prominent place in ceremonies during the 5th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1976.

While the Delegation itself arrived to the city by plane, the country also sent the Yugoslav training ship Galeb to the Port of Colombo ahead of the event.

[5] In 2014, the former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in Geneva Tamara Kunanayakam accused the government of betrayal by appointing for international experts and advisers on missing persons the same people who divided Yugoslavia into a number of nations.