New Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Seoul Presents Credentials

The newly appointed Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Korea Manisha Gunasekera presented credentials to President Park Guen-Hye on Monday 14 September at the President's Office in Seoul. The Credentials ceremony included a brief meeting with President Park, an official photograph and an honour guard. The Actg. Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yong and the Senior Presidential Secretary for Foreign Affairs and National Security Ju Chul-ki were present at the Credentials ceremony from the Korean side. 

At the meeting, President Park warmly welcomed the new Ambassador and wished her well in her assignment. The President referred to the historically warm bilateral relations between the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka covering political, economic and cultural relations and development cooperation, and reiterated the need to further expand the existing cooperation and friendly ties between the two countries.  Ambassador Gunasekera thanked President Park for her kind sentiments, and conveyed to her the compliments and best wishes of President Maithripala Sirisena, which were warmly reciprocated. She expressed Sri Lanka’s deep appreciation to the Republic of Korea for hosting a 30,000 strong Sri Lankan expatriate community which is making a significant contribution to the country’s economy, as well as for the support extended through development cooperation over the years. The Ambassador also referred to the interest of the Sri Lankan Government to further elevate the existing close and friendly relations, with particular emphasis on the political and economic spheres, in the context of the 40^th anniversary of diplomatic relations of the two countries scheduled for 2017. 

Ambassador Gunasekera joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1996, and has among other posts, served as Sri Lanka's Deputy Permanent Representative in Geneva, Director General/Donor Coordination of the Ministry of Economic Development, and Director General/East Asia and Pacific of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. 

Embassy of Sri Lanka
Seoul
22 September 2015