Ambassador Grace Asirwatham presented Credentials to His Majesty King Philippe, King of Belgium at the Royal Palace in Brussels on 12 September 2019 as the new Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Belgium.
Following the official ceremony, Ambassador Asirwatham had a private audience with the King. During the discussion, the longstanding historical ties between Sri Lanka and Belgium were recalled. It was noted that in recent times economic ties with Belgium have grown steadfastly and total trade has exceeded Euro 500 million. More than 32 Belgian companies have invested in Sri Lanka and tourist arrivals from Belgium had increased by 30% last year. The prospects for Belgium to provide technical assistance in the areas of health care and recycling was also discussed.
Ambassador Asirwatham is a senior career diplomat of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, who has previously served as State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Netherlands and Nepal and also the Consul General in Bonn. As an international civil servant, she also held the post of Deputy Director General of the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) based in The Hague. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from the University of Jaffna and a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Colombo.
