Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Russian Federation Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka presented his credentials to President Vladimir Putin on 11 October 2018 at a solemn ceremony held at the Kremlin in Moscow. The ceremony, held in the magnificent St. Alexandre's Hall at the Kremlin, brought together newly-appointed Ambassadors from 23 countries.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Policy Advisor to the Russian President Yury Ushakov were also present at the ceremony.
Addressing the new Ambassadors, President Putin outlined Russia’s position with regard to key foreign policy developments, with an emphasis on defending the principles of the UN Charter. He also spoke about Russia’s role in the common efforts to combat international terrorism. President Putin's speech concluded with an overview of the current status of Russia's bilateral relations with the countries whose Ambassadors were present in the ceremony. The President expressed Russia’s interest in ensuring closer economic ties with Sri Lanka, particularly in agriculture, fisheries and tourism, adding that he wished to highlight the important intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the defence sphere, signed in September 2018.
The ceremony was followed by a series of informal conversations between the Russian President and the new Heads of Foreign Missions, and Ambassador Jayatilleka had a brief conversation with President Putin. The Ambassador also had a discussion with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Sinhala, and was happy to hear Minister Lavrov sharing recollections of his early diplomatic career, which started in Sri Lanka.
Following the ceremony, the Ambassador and Madam Sanja Jayatilleka hosted a reception for the staff of the Embassy and the officials of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second Department of Asia.
