The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Stockholm celebrated the 71st Anniversary of Independence of Sri Lanka by organizing a Sri Lanka week consisting of three events. The Embassy together with the Sri Lankan community celebrated the 71st Anniversary of Independence. The ceremony commenced with playing the national anthem in Sinhala and Tamil languages. Two minutes silence was observed in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for the nation. Multi-faith religious observances were conducted, offering the blessings upon Sri Lanka and its people. The National day message of H.E. the President was read in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages, and the messages of Hon. Prime Minister and Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs in all three languages were distributed among the participants.
Addressing the Sri Lanka community, Ambassador Sudantha Ganegama Arachchi requested them to contribute to the development efforts of Sri Lanka by closely interacting with the Embassy. For this purpose, they were invited to join a forum being established by the Embassy.
A reception was hosted for the Diplomatic and the Swedish Business community On 07th February 2019. In his address, Ambassador Ganegama Arachchi highlighted that, despite many challenges in the journey from Independence to date, Sri Lanka remains a vibrant democracy with an economy open to world trade. He stated that shared values and interests would continue to form the basis of the cordial relations between Sweden and Sri Lanka.
On 08th February 2019, the Embassy organized a Sri Lanka tourism promotional event with the participation of Swedish travel companies and travel writers. The event aimed at presenting Sri Lanka as a unique travel destination offering combinations of new experiences to Swedish travellers. A presentation on emerging trends in Sri Lanka tourism was made by the Commercial Secretary of the Embassy. Her presentation was complemented by Ms. Margaretha Haglind, the Honorary Tea Commissioner for Sri Lanka in Sweden highlighting tea tourism which is an emerging trend in Sri Lanka tourism trade.
At all three events, traditional Sri Lankan cuisine were served.
(Photo credit: Mr. Harry Withana)
