Ambassador of Sri Lanka resident to Türkiye and also concurrently accredited to Ukraine Hasanthi Urugodawatte Dissanayake, presented her Letter of Credence to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine at the St. Sophia Cathedral on 24 March 2025.
With establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, this visit further solidified the commitment to enhancing collaboration between the two nations.
Prior to the official ceremony, Ambassador Dissanayake presented open copies of her credential papers to Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yevhen Perebyinis.
The ceremony of Presenting Letters of Credence was followed by a brief meeting between Ambassador Dissanayake and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who congratulated Ambassador Dissanayake on her appointment.
In his conversation with the Ambassador of Sri Lanka, the President Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine is engaged in constructive negotiations currently with relevant parties and is ready to do everything possible to achieve peace as soon as possible. He added that Ukraine has proposed steps to lay the necessary foundation for a further negotiation process and counts on the support of this position from other nations and expressed hope for the intensification of cooperation and mentioned that Ukraine seeks “Sri Lanka’s active support for path towards securing a just and lasting peace based on UN Charter and International Law”.
Ambassador Dissanayake underscored that Sri Lanka supports for peaceful resolution of the conflict and sincerely hopes that the on-going negotiations would pave the way for restoration of peace, at the earliest.
President Zelenskyy also mentioned that Ukraine is interested in developing bilateral cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade, education, food security, and medical rehabilitation. In addition, Ambassador suggested possible cooperation in science and technology, pharmaceuticals and agricultural sectors.
Following the ceremony, Ambassador Dissanayake engaged in high-level discussions with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine on 25th March 2025. She met with the Head of the Fourth Territorial Department General, Head of the Department General of Consular Services and senior officials of the Economic Diplomacy on matters of mutual concerns, such as addressing ongoing consular matters and exploring avenues to strengthen economic relations between Sri Lanka and Ukraine, particularly on re-visiting pending bilateral agreements and following the processes in both countries to conclude those in a mutually beneficial manner. Both sides expressed their commitment to fostering deeper cooperation through educational and cultural exchanges as well.
The Ambassador also had a meeting with the Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine Oksen Lisovy on cooperation in Education, with special attention on collaborations with universities in the Western part of Ukraine which are not affected by the prevailing situation as well as possible research collaborations between like-minded institutes in the two countries.
Ukrainian side was pleased to observe that two female Ambassadors, from Sri Lanka and Guatemala were the only Ambassadors who accepted the opportunity to present Credentials at this point of time.
The Hony. Consul for Sri Lanka in Ukraine, Mr. Kyrylo Kabanets also joined the meetings.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Türkiye, concurrently accredited to Ukraine, remains committed to strengthening diplomatic, economic, educational, and cultural ties, thereby fostering a deeper partnership between Sri Lanka and Ukraine for mutual growth and prosperity.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Ankara
28 March 2025
