70th Anniversary of Independence and the Progress of Women in Sri Lanka celebrated in Ha Noi – Ministry of Foreign Affairs

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Receiving the Chief Guest, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Ha Noi recently celebrated the 70^th Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka, focusing on the achievements of Sri Lankan women.

Celebrations took place at the official residence of the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Ha Noi Hasanthi Urugodawatte Dissanayake and over 200 invitees including Vietnamese politicians, government officials, business personnel, artists, academics, diplomats, and Sri Lankan expatriates attended the event.

His Excellency Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Thien, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports of Vietnam graced the occasion as the Chief Guest while Her Excellency Madam Nguyen Thuy Anh, Chairperson of the Social Affairs Committee of the National Assembly and His Excellency Mr. Dan Dinh Quy, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs attended as Guests of Honour.

The “Hope” Choir led by Mr. Ton That Triem and soprano, Ms. Nguyen Xuan and comprising of vision impaired students and artists, sang “Nim him sewwa ma sasare” of the late Maestro Amaradewa, as well as the National Anthem in Sinhala and Tamil, followed by a medley of songs.

Ambassador Urugodawatte Dissanayake delivered a speech supported by a powerpoint presentation focusing, on the 70^th anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka, and the progress made by the women of Sri Lanka during the past 70 years. She also focused on the 48 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Looking back at Sri Lanka’s progress over the past 70 years, the Ambassador highlighted that free education and free healthcare have led Sri Lanka to be a country with a high level of human capital. She further added that Sri Lankans could be proud of their democratic traditions and being able to reach Middle Income Status with a per capita GDP of US$ 3,835, in spite of the conflict that ravaged the country for over 25 years.

The Ambassador further emphasized that Sri Lanka is determined to find sustainable peace and stability through reconciliation, and expressed her firm belief that Sri Lanka can learn much from Viet Nam on how to reconcile with the past and move forward for a brighter future.

Speaking on the achievements of Sri Lankan women locally and internationally, Ambassador Urugodawatte Dissanayake recognized that the larger proportion of contribution to Sri Lankan economy comes from the hard work of women in the tea and garment industries, as well as the remittances of the migrant workers.

She also spoke on the steadily increasing bilateral cooperation between Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Minister Nguyen Ngoc Thien mentioned that over the past 70 years, the Vietnamese people have always paid close attention to the achievements of the people of Sri Lanka in building and developing their country.

The Minister also appreciated the role played by Ambassador Hasanthi Urugodawatte Dissanayake in promoting bilateral relations.

At the end of the official programme, the guests were treated to a home-cooked sumptuous Sri Lankan buffet.

Later, the Sri Lankan Ambassador was interviewed by the Nhan Dan TV channel.

Embassy of Sri Lanka

Ha Noi

March 2018

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Lighting of the Oil lamp

Hope Choir

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Some of the Sri Lankan and Vietnamese female guests and the Irish Ambassador

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