The Higashiyama zoo in Nagoya organized a special Sri Lanka Festival to mark the 60th Anniversary of Diplomatic ties between Japan and Sri Lanka on Saturday, 6th October in Nagoya, Japan. A large gathering of invitees graced the occasion with Ambassador Admiral WasanthaKarannagoda in special attendance as the Chief Guest.
The Tokyo Bureau of Japan Mint of The Government of Japan printed a 1,000 Rupee Silver Coin to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between Japan and Sri Lanka. The so-called, the First-Strike of the issuance of 1,000 Rupee Commemorative Silver Coin, Ceremony was held at the Japan Mint of Tokyo Bureau on 4th of October, 2012. The Japan Mint, the Government entity which issues coins, has received an order to make Commemorative Silver Coins by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to be issued to mark the said 60th year Anniversary. This high profile Ceremony was attended by Senior Ministers, Vice Ministers, Members of Parliament, Diplomatic Corps, Senior Bureaucrats & Technocrats of Ministries of Foreign Affairs & Finance, select Financial Institutions and Media, among others.
A group of 40 representatives from the Austrian Gardeners’ Association, which comprises 40,000 members throughout Austria, visited the Sri Lanka Mission in Vienna, accompanied by travel operators and airline representatives, at the invitation of its staff . The members of the Association received a briefing on the country, its people, environment and culture prior to their visit to Sri Lanka in late October 2012. The staff of the Sri Lanka Mission hosted them to a buffet of traditional Sri Lankan food, followed by the screening of a short film on Sri Lanka and a presentation in German on travel and tourism.
Ambassador Ravinatha Aryasinha has said, "those who downplay the significance of Sri Lanka's post-conflict achievements and constantly keep shifting goal posts, show disrespect not only to Sri Lanka and its international partners whose steadfast commitment to this task has made these achievements possible, but also to those who have at last emerged from the suffering caused by 30 years of terrorist conflict".
Sri Lanka Consulate General in partnership with Indian Merchants’ Chamber (IMC), the premier chamber of trade, commerce and industry in India jointly celebrated the World Tourism Day at the auditorium of the Chamber in Mumbai on 27th September 2012. The Consul General of Sri Lanka, Ms. Upekka Samaratunga was the Chief Guest of the event.
A three day colorful cultural presentation focusing Sri Lanka “Sri Lanka Cultural Days” kicked off on Saturday 29th of September, at the Kuwait National Museum as part of an on-going cultural extravaganza. The event, hosted by the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL), was a prelude to the upcoming First Asian Cooperation Dialogue Summit to be held in Kuwait in mid October. Number of Asian countries were invited to showcase their cultural heritage including events, products and tourism attractions.
On September 28 th , 2012, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Paris held “Sri Lanka in Bloom”, an international photographic exhibition arranged by Mr. Sudath Silva, Media Director to H.E. the President of Sri Lanka. The exhibition depicted Sri Lanka’s experience in combating terrorism, as well as the ongoing development activities in the North and East and the beauty of the island.
