Address by Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera
at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture
Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations & Strategic Studies, Colombo: 24 August 2015
I have the honour today, as the Chairman of the Board of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies, to speak a little about my late cabinet colleague Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar and also introduce our guest speaker, the Rt. Hon. Tony Blair.
Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera assumed duties at the Foreign Ministry today. This is his third stint at the Foreign Ministry, having been Foreign Minister for the first time between November 2005 and January 2007, and for the second time between January 2015 and August 2015.
Hon. Mangala Samaraweera MP was appointed today as Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister. Taking oaths in the presence of President Maithripala Sirisena at the Presidential Secretariat, he re-affirmed his commitment to “faithfully perform the duties and discharge the functions of the office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in accordance with the Constitution”.
This is the third time Minister Samaraweera will hold the portfolio, having held it for the first time between November 2005 and January 2007, and for the second time between January 2015 and August 2015.
A Saudi national, Mr. Omar Yeslam Saeed, was murdered and then robbed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on 11 May 2007. Six Sri Lanka nationals and two other foreign nationals were arrested in this connection by the Saudi authorities.
From the time of the arrest of the six Sri Lanka nationals, the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Jeddah continuously extended all consular assistance required by the Sri Lanka nationals.
The Government and the people of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka express their heartfelt condolences to the Government and the people of the People’s Republic of China over the deadly explosions that occurred in a warehouse in the coastal city of Tianjin, resulting in the death and injury of several hundreds of people.
On the request of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, President Maithripala Sirisena approved a cash contribution of USD 25,000 to be presented to the Government of Myanmar as relief aid, following the devastation to life and property caused by the recent floods in the country. The contribution was handed over to H.E. U Min Thein Zan, the Ambassador of Myanmar in Sri Lanka, by Foreign Secretary Chitranganee Wagiswara, on behalf of Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, at a simple ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday 14 August 2015. Read More
The Government and the people of Sri Lanka express their heartfelt condolences to the Government and the people of Myanmar on the loss of lives and enormous devastation caused by floods in Myanmar.
The thoughts and prayers of the people of Sri Lanka are with the families of those who have lost their loved ones in this natural disaster. It is hoped that Myanmar will make a quick recovery from this calamity.
