The Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Germany Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi, concurrently accredited as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Croatia, presented credentials to President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, on 09 May 2018 at a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Zagreb.
Ambassador Hettiarachchi availed himself of this opportunity to brief the President of Croatia on the significant developments in Sri Lanka, particularly on reconciliation, reconstruction and economic development, following the election of the unity government in 2015, and conveyed her the greetings and best wishes of the President and the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
The Ambassador thanked the Croatian President for the support that Croatia has extended to Sri Lanka in all international fora in the past. The President congratulated the Ambassador and assured of full support and cooperation from the Government of Croatia in discharging his responsibilities.
During his visit to Zagreb, Ambassador Hettiarachchi had meetings with the State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, State Secretary of the Ministry of Sports, Mayor of Zagreb, Head of Department for International Collaboration in the Ministry for Science and Education, State Minister of Culture and the Vice President of the Croatian Chamber of Economy. During the meetings, the Ambassador emphasized the need to further strengthen the cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the fields of Culture, Education, Sports and Trade. He also expressed his determination to focus his efforts on further promoting the trade relations.
This is the first time that a Sri Lankan Ambassador resident in Germany presented Credentials in Croatia after Sri Lanka established formal diplomatic relations with the country in 1997. Spouse of the Ambassador Wasantha Gunawardana, and Counsellor/ Head of Chancery Ahamed Razee accompanied the Ambassador to the Credential ceremony.
