The Embassy in Male’, Maldives celebrated Sri Lanka’s 71st Anniversary of National Independence with a reception hosted for more than 200 dignitaries consisting of Ambassadors, Senior diplomatic Officers, Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, Sri Lankan professionals and expatriates and members of the media on 11th of February evening at the Champa Central Hotel in Male’. H.E. Mohamed Nasheed, the former President of Maldives graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.
The event commenced with the playing of the National Anthems of Sri Lanka and Maldives followed by two minutes’ silence which was observed in memory of war heroes and all those who had laid down their lives in defence of the Motherland. Ambassador Asoka Thoradeniya, in his welcome address reviewed the strong bilateral relations that exist between Sri Lanka and Maldives and emphasized that trade and tourism between the two countries will be further enhanced very soon; and that arrangements were discussed and have been agreed upon by the two Heads of Governments during the recent state visit undertaken by HE the President of Maldives to Sri Lanka as the Guest of honor for the 71st Independence Day Celebrations.
A documentary on Sri Lanka’s 1948 Independence and the 2019 Independence Day Celebrations in Sri Lanka for which the President of Maldives, His Excellency Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was the Guest of Honor, was screened.
The Independence Day messages of His Excellency the President Maithripala Sirisena, Hon. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the Hon. Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana were readout in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages respectively.
The Chief Guest, Former President Mohamed Nasheed, speaking at the event noted that the countries are "not only linked in culture, language and history, but also in trade and every single manner" and that Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo has the highest number of Maldives and called it Maldives’ second biggest city. He also stated that Maldives and Sri Lanka "must find a way" to share each other's ocean territories.
The evening featured a traditional Sri Lankan dance performed by the Sri Lankan expatriate children in Maldives.
The event concluded with serving of a tea reception to all the guests who participated at the ceremony.
In parallel to the 71st Independence Celebrations of Sri Lanka, the Embassy organized a Sri Lanka Trade Promotional Event on 31st January 2019 at Hotel Jen in Male’. This event was aimed at presenting Sri Lanka as a Trade Destination and Sri Lankan products such as spices and tea along with leaflets were distributed. A presentation on emerging trends in Sri Lanka trade was screened as well.
