Sri Lanka was unanimously elected as the Chair of the Budget Committee of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) at the 192nd Administrative Council Meeting held at the Peace Palace in the Hague yesterday, 1st December 2015. The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Netherlands, Adam M.J. Sadiq was proposed for this post by Dr. Liesbeth Lijnzaad, Legal Adviser of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who chaired the meeting which elected Ambassador Sadiq by acclamation.
Sri Lanka today (1st December 2015) urged the world community to stand firm and united in combating terrorism. This call was made when Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), Adam M.J. Sadiq addressed the 20th Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in the Hague.
State Minister of Agriculture Hon. Wasantha Aluwihare led the Sri Lanka delegation comprising senior officials from the Ministries of Primary Industries and Agriculture to the Global Saemaul Leadership Forum (GSLF) 2015 held in Daegu, Republic of Korea, from 24 to 27 November 2015, on the invitation of the Korean Government. At the Forum, the State Minister appreciated the close cooperation existing between Sri Lanka and Korea on the Saemaul Undong (SMU) programme, in agriculture development, as well as in training and capacity building.
Mr. Juergen Weerth has assumed responsibilities as the new Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka to North Rhine - Westphalia with consular jurisdiction covering the regions of Bergisches Land, Cologne Lowland, Lower Rhine, Münsterland, North Eifel, Ruhr, Sauerland – Siegerland and Teutoburg Forest. On behalf of Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Ambassador Karunatilaka Amunugama handed over the Commission of Appointment to Mr. Juergen Weerth on 18th November 2015 at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Berlin.
Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, the newly appointed Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Russian Federation, presented his Credentials to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, in the Alexandrovsky Hall of the Great Kremlin Palace in Moscow on Thursday, 26th November 2015. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov was also present at the Ceremony.
The Minister of Agriculture, Duminda Dissanayake visited Cuba from 07th to 13th November 2015 and represented the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) as its Secretary General at the 19th General Assembly of the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) and its 70th Anniversary Celebrations held in Havana, Cuba from 09th to 12th November 2015 which also coincided with the 10th International Commission of the Communist Youth Federation of Cuba (UJC). The Minister was received on arrival by members of the Cuban Young Communist League and the Sri Lankan Embassy staff.
The newly appointed High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Singapore, Mr. Nimal Weeraratne presented his credentials to His Excellency Tony Tan Keng Yam, President of the Republic of Singapore on Thursday, 26th November 2015. The ceremony was held at the Istana, the office and the official residence of the President of Singapore where the High Commissioner was welcomed with a Guard of Honour upon his arrival.
After the welcome ceremony, High Commissioner Weeraratne presented credentials to President Tony Tan, and held a brief discussion. The First Lady of Singapore, Mrs. Weeraratne and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore were present at the meeting. In his remarks, the High Commissioner conveyed warm greetings and best wishes of President Maithripala Sirisena and those of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to the Singaporean President which was warmly reciprocated.