Upon the signing of a Joint Communiqué by Mr. Karunatilaka Amunugama, Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs of Sri Lanka and H.E. Ruben Ignacio Zamora, Ambassador of El Salvador to India on 10th December 2012 in Colombo, the Government of Sri Lanka and the Government of El Salvador decided to establish Diplomatic Relations between the two countries with effect from 10th December 2012.
Colombo, 7 December 2012 – President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka and Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today announced that the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 15 to 17 November 2013.
CHOGM is held every two years and is the Commonwealth’s highest consultative and policy-making body. Commonwealth leaders agreed on Sri Lanka as the 2013 host for the meeting when they met in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, in 2009. They reaffirmed this decision at the 2011 CHOGM in Perth, Australia.
The President said: “As a committed member of the Commonwealth family, Sri Lanka is pleased to be hosting CHOGM. The Commonwealth shares a strong commitment to the twin pillars of democracy and development. We look forward to welcoming all Commonwealth leaders and delegates to our country for what I am confident will be a successful and mutually beneficial summit in true Commonwealth spirit.”
The High commission of Sri Lanka for Singapore participated in “The Trees of the World 2012’’ organized by the Singapore Botanic Gardens.
Sri Lankan Handicrafts, Tea, Spices and porcelain products were displayed at the International Charity Bazaar held on Sunday 25th November at the Marriott Hotel in Warsaw organized by the Spouses of Head of Missions (SHOM) based in Warsaw.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing together with the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau and Sri Lankan Airlines organised a series of events to promote Sri Lanka as a tourist destination in Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chengdu in China, with a view to attracting Chinese tourists to Sri Lanka including those who will be travelling overseas during the Chinese “Spring Festival” holiday in February 2013.
