Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

The Deputy Speaker Hon. J. M. Ananda Kumarasiri and the Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, Mr. Neil Iddawala participated at the 25^th Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth (CSPOC) in Ottawa from 6 to 10 January 2020.

Speakers and Presiding Officers from 37 Commonwealth Parliaments attended the Conference. The Conference, which was opened by the Governor-General of Canada, Her Excellency the Rt Hon. Julie Payette at a ceremony held in the Senate of Canada on  7^th January 2020, was attended by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Canada, Asoka Girihagama and the two delegates from Sri Lanka.

Read more: High Commissioner Girihagama hosts the Deputy Speaker and the Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

The staff of the Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa commenced work on the first day of the year with a special programme with Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Canada, Asoka Girihagama hoisting the national flag followed by the singing of the national anthem. Thereafter, two minutes of silence was observed to commemorate war heroes and others who had sacrificed their lives on behalf of their motherland. The staff of the High Commission took the ‘Oath of Public Servants’ by pledging to work with efficiency and productivity throughout the year 2020.

 High Commissioner Girihagama commenced his address by extending his best wishes for the new year and underscored the importance of adhering to the oath of the public servants. While thanking the staff for the work and events that were successfully carried out in 2019, he called on the staff to continue with achieving the desired outcome in keeping with the Government’s vision to increase productivity and economic empowerment.

Read more: Commencement of work in the New Year at the Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Canada, Asoka Girihagama attended special religious observances organized separately by two Buddhist temples in Ottawa consisting of the Ottawa Buddhist Vihara and Hilda Jayewardenaramaya on 1^st January 2020.

The venerable theros of the two temples invoked blessings on the Government and people of Sri Lanka.

The two events were attended by a large number of devotees.

Read more: High Commissioner Girihagama attends religious observances to invoke blessings for the New Year

The Sri Lanka High Commission in Canada in coordination with the Good Shepherd Church in Ottawa organised a Christmas celebration on 22 December 2019 at the Church premises.

The celebrations commenced with the Welcome Address by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to Canada, Asoka Girihagama who spoke of the universal event of Christmas which marked the birth of Christ over 2000 years ago. He stated that Christmas was a time to remember those who were less privileged, the sick, the hungry and the poor and the importance of treating one another with love and compassion. He also remembered the victims of the senseless terror attacks in    Sri Lanka on 21 April 2019 which occurred eight month ago.

The High Commissioner’s address was followed by a holy Mass conducted by Reverend Father Virgil Amirthakumar and Father Yacob Joseph. Hymns and Christmas carols in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages were rendered by the Tamil Group and the Ottawa-Sri Lanka Catholic Prayer Group.

Following the Vote of Thanks, the guests were served light refreshments and freshly brewed Ceylon Tea, complements of the Sri Lanka Tea Board and Basilar, while children were delighted by Santa Clause who distributed candy to the young guests.

The Christmas celebration was well attended by over 200 Sri Lanka nationals, Canadians of  Sri Lankan origin and Canadians among others.

Sri Lanka High Commission

Ottawa

23^rd December 2019

The attention of the Ministry of Foreign Relations has been drawn to remarks made by Member of Parliament Udaya Gammanpila over media on 3 December 2019 in connection with the reference to Sri Lanka in the election manifesto of the Conservative Party in the run up to the general election in the United Kingdom scheduled for 12 December 2019.

In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Relations wishes to state that a paragraph on page 53 of the Conservative party manifesto which refers to Sri Lanka is worded as follows:

'We will continue to support international initiatives to achieve reconciliation, stability and justice across the world, and in the former conflict zones such as Cyprus, Sri Lanka and the Middle East, where we maintain our support for a two-state solution;'

Following publication of the manifesto, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in the UK in consultation with the Ministry of Foreign Relations took immediate steps to make strong representation to the Co-Chair of the Conservative Party The Rt. Hon. James Cleverly with regard to the distortion contained in the manifesto in its reference to Sri Lanka. This was conveyed through letter by Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in the UK Manisha Gunasekera on 27 November 2019 addressed to the Co-Chair of the Conservative party.

The High Commissioner affirmed that the reference to Sri Lanka as a country which requires a two-state solution is unacceptable, and has never been the position of any party in the UK. She reaffirmed that successive British Governments led by all parties have always supported peace and reconciliation in a united Sri Lanka. The High Commissioner therefore requested that the paragraph be suitably amended to accurately reflect the Conservative party position on Sri Lanka.  A copy of the letter is annexed herewith for perusal (Annex I)

Subsequent to representation by the High Commissioner through the above submission as well as through outreach to senior representatives of the Conservative party, the Deputy Chair of the Conservative Party Paul Scully issued the following clarification on the subject to the High Commissioner by his email communication of 27 November 2019:

Read more: MEDIA STATEMENT

Pakistan Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi who arrived in Sri Lanka on a two day visit, called on Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Foreign Ministry on Monday (02/12) and discussed the growing bilateral relations that could be further diversified and developed in the main sectors.

 The visiting Foreign Minister congratulated Minister Gunawardena on his new assignment and stated that Pakistan looks forward with much enthusiasm in working with Sri Lanka and invited the Minister to visit the country in the near future. Minister Qureshi commended the Sri Lankan government of its efforts in eradicating terrorism and defeating the LTTE and thereby restoring peace in the region which was of vital importance.

The Minister emphasized that the two countries having held longstanding trade ties need to reach a higher level of economic cooperation, which at present has not been fully optimised and there is much potential for economic linkages to be strengthened. He highlighted that Sri Lanka is presently not fully utilizing its credit line of USD 200 million with Pakistan and invited Sri Lanka to make use of the opportunity, especially in the animal husbandry area, which would be beneficial for the country. The Minister also informed that both countries must look towards strengthening the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (PSLFTA) which was the first bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) of Pakistan.

He requested the Foreign Ministry to identify potential areas of trade and investment and plan a programme which would introduce the Sri Lankan business sector to visit Pakistan and form linkages with suitable counterparts in Pakistan. He further commended the Sri Lankan government's efforts in strengthening defence cooperation and looked forward to further intelligence sharing to help each other as committed neighbours.

Minister Gunawardena welcomed his Pakistan counterpart and conveyed Sri Lanka’s sincere appreciation for Pakistan’s partnership in multifaceted cooperation including the steadfast support for the country’s development process. The Minister stated that this visit is the first to be made of a Foreign Minister to Sri Lanka following the formation of the Cabinet, after the election of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Minister Gunawardena informed his counterpart that Sri Lanka is committed to continuing our partnership in all possible areas of cooperation and looked forward to engaging in the fields of tourism and higher education, in addition to the growing bilateral economic partnership.

Minister Qureshi invited a delegation of Buddhist clergy from Sri Lanka to visit Pakistan and witness the beautiful Buddhist religious sites and travel the country in an effort to invigorate the growing cultural relations.

During the visit, Foreign Minister Qureshi also called on President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The Foreign Minister of Pakistan  was accompanied by Director General of South Asia and SAARC of the Pakistan Foreign Ministry Dr . Muhammad Faisal, Acting High Commissioner of Pakistan Tanvir Ahmad, Defence Attache’ Col. Sajjad Ali and Second Secretary of Pakistan High Commission Ayesha Abubakar Fahad.

Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha and senior officials of the Ministry were also present at the meeting.

2 December 2019