The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Ankara participated in the Annual Charity Bazaar organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spouses Solidarity Association of Türkiye (DMEDD) and Spouses of Heads of Mission (SHOM) on 10 December 2023 at the Sheraton Hotel in Ankara.
With 40 Diplomatic Missions participating, the Bazaar brought together different cultures and raised funds to support education through scholarships for the underprivileged and other charity projects in Türkiye. The event featured more than 60 stalls and over 500 people visited the Sri Lanka stalls which offered a wide range of products such as cinnamon, pepper, Ceylon Tea, handloom shawls, shirts and handcrafts, batik shirts, hand-made jewellery and even had a tourism promotion corner. Further, sketchbooks of eminent Sri Lankan artist, Vasantha Perera, “Colombo” and “Kandy” drew the attention of many visitors. The Sri Lanka stall also served Ceylon Tea to the local and foreign visitors at the event.
The Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye, Burak Akçapar and Ahmet Hildiz visited the Sri Lanka stalls. Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Türkiye, Hasanthi Urugodawatte Dissanayake presented the sketchbook “Colombo” to Deputy Minister Burak Akçapar, who served as a non-resident Ambassador to Sri Lanka from 2011 – 2012. Ambassador of Sri Lanka briefed the Deputy Foreign Ministers on the importance of the year 2023 for Sri Lanka and Türkiye, as it marks the 75th Anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations. Further the Ambassador stated that on 08 December 2023, the Embassy of Sri Lanka together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye issued a special commemorative stamp to celebrate the important milestone of bilateral relations between the two countries. The Embassy of Sri Lanka also coordinated with relevant authorities in Sri Lanka and the Turkish Embassy in Colombo to issue a similar stamps in Sri Lanka on the same day. The stamps for both countries were designed on gratis basis by the author and designer of the sketchbooks Vasantha Perera.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Ankara
18 December 2023
