Ambassador of the Holy See (Vatican) Archbishop Brian Ngozi Udaigwe called on Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Foreign Ministry recently.

Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena referred to the close and cordial relations between Sri Lanka and the Holy See and recalled the visit of Pope Francis to Sri Lanka. The Foreign Minister appreciated assistance provided by the Holy See and the Catholic Church in Sri Lanka in the field of education, poverty alleviation and social services. He also appreciated the generous development assistance provided by Caritas.

Foreign Minister Gunawardena also discussed closer cooperation between the two countries at international level on environmental issues and challenges faced by developing countries in the COVID-19 context.

The Foreign Minister informed that the Government of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has taken immediate action to concurrently accredit the Sri Lanka Ambassador in Geneva to the Holy See. It was noted that since 2018 there has been no accredited Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Holy See. The Ambassador appreciated the decision of the Government to restore the concurrent accreditation.

The Foreign Minister expressed the hope that exchange of high level visits between Sri Lanka and the Vatican could take place in the future.

Foreign Ministry
Colombo

20 December 2020