The Ambassador-designate of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Austria Sarija Sirisena assumed duties at the Mission on 01 July 2019.
The Ambassador-designate assumed duties by lighting the traditional oil lamp. Religious observance and chanting of pirith was conducted by Venerable Seelawansa Thero of the Austrian Dhamma-Zentrum Nyanaponika.
Addressing the Staff, Ambassador-designate Saroja Sirisena emphasized the need to raise the profile of Sri Lanka in Austria towards increasing political and economic relations. She highlighted the need to engage actively to rebuild the tourism industry of Sri Lanka in collaboration with Austrian outbound travel industry.
Ambassador-designate Saroja Sirisena joined Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1998 and served as Director General Economic Affairs, Director General Public Diplomacy and Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately prior to her appointment in Vienna.
From July 2014 to March 2018, Ambassador- designate Saroja Sirisena served as the Sri Lanka Consul General in Mumbai.
Her appointments in Colombo also include a secondment at the Ministry of Economic Development as Director General /External Resources as well as several key appointments in the Foreign Ministry including Director Consular Affairs, Director South Asia & SAARC, Deputy Director/Economic Affairs, Assistant Director /Economic Affairs.
In her Diplomatic career, Ambassador- designate Saroja Sirisena held diplomatic positions in several Sri Lanka Missions abroad. She served in the Sri Lanka Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva as Minister, and in the Sri Lanka Embassy to Belgium, Luxemburg & European Union as Minister-Counsellor. She was the Acting Secretary General at Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO and served as First Secretary in the Sri Lanka Permanent Delegation to UNESCO.
Ambassador-designate Saroja Sirisena holds a Bachelor of Arts in political Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia and has completed post graduate studies at the École nationale d'administration in France. She is a past pupil of Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo.
