The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Dubai and the Northern Emirates celebrated the 71st National Day of Sri Lanka at a formal function held on Monday 4th February 2019.
The programme of the celebrations included hoisting of the National Flag by the Consul General, singing of the National Anthem by the participants, remaining a two minutes’ silence for fallen heroes, a multi-faith religious function, reading the Independence Day messages of H.E. the President, Hon. Prime Minister and Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs and etc.
During his address to the participants, the Consul General Charitha Yattogoda highlighted the measures taken by the Consulate General in the previous year to enhance its delivery of work to the public which include expediting of the passport application system, introduction of smart queue system, establishing of the PABX phone system in more informative manner, upgrading of the website of the Consulate General to contain more details in all three languages of Sri Lanka in keeping with the trilingual policy of the Government of Sri Lanka and etc. The Consul General thanked the Sri Lankan community who represent different ethno-religious sections for the valuable contribution made by them towards the motherland by remitting much needed foreign exchange and also for their all-time support provided to the Consulate General of Sri Lanka for its activities including organizing of community events, demonstrating their solidarity.
The Consul General also mentioned in his speech about the facelift carried out to the Consulate General premises, which enhanced its outward image to the public and foreigners who visit there to obtain its services. Additionally, he apprised the gathering regarding two newspaper supplements placed in Gulf News and Khaleej Times, which are two mainstream English newspapers of UAE, regarding the 71st anniversary of the National Day of Sri Lanka. The Consulate General has taken the initiative regarding this task with the assistance of the sponsors.
Signifying the solidarity of all ethnic groups towards the development of Sri Lanka, in addition to the Consul General and the Country Manager of Sri Lankan Airlines in the UAE, four prominent personalities representing Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher communities in Sri Lanka joined to light the traditional oil lamp.
At the conclusion of the function, a cake was symbolically cut by the ladies in participation, headed by the wife of the Consul General, in appreciation of the contribution made by the ladies for the development of Sri Lanka.
All the participants were thereafter invited for a sumptuous buffet of traditional refreshments served at the Consulate General premises.
