Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

SINGAPORE-BASED GLOBAL NON-PROFIT, THE ALLIANCE TO END PLASTIC WASTE DONATES BEACH CLEANING MACHINERY TO SRI LANKA

The Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) of Sri Lanka received eight (08) BeachTech Hydro Sweepy beach cleaning machinery worth about US$180,000, donated by Singapore-based global non-profit, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (Alliance). The donation was formally handed over by Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage to State Minister of Coast Conservation & Low-Lying Lands Development Mohan Priyadarshana De Silva, and Chairperson of Marine Environment Protection Authority Dharshani Lahandapura at a ceremony held today.

BeachTech Hydro Sweepy beach cleaning machines manufactured by Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG, a company in Germany, are capable of effectively and efficiently cleaning up the plastic nurdles and other types of waste. Another advantage of the machine is that beach clean-up can be done in a safe manner minimizing the human contact with hazardous materials.

These machines are expected to help with the clean-up of plastic waste from the ship X-Press Pearl, which sank off Sri Lanka’s West Coast in May 2021 causing significant environmental damage. The donation was coordinated by the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore.

The Alliance reached out to the High Commission in June this year as it is a Global Non- Profit that focuses on ending plastic waste in the environment globally and were concerned about the impact of plastic pellets from the X-Press Pearl incident and its possible impact on the marine environment.

The initial discussions on assistance from the Alliance was held virtually with the participation of High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Singapore Sashikala Premawardhane, Director General/ Ocean Affairs, Environment and Climate Change of the Foreign Ministry Hasanthi Dissanayake, the General Manager of the Marine Environment Protection Authority (MEPA) Dr. Terney Pradeep Kumara, and Alliance representatives Vice President of Projects Nicholas Kolesch, Head of Outreach and Education Kim Stengert, and Head, Government and Public Affairs Ravi Alfreds.

The coordination effort of getting the machines to Sri Lanka involved officials from the Sri Lanka High Commission in Singapore, Sri Lanka Consulate General in Frankfurt, Foreign Ministry, MEPA and SriLankan Airlines. Chairman SriLankan Airlines Ashok Pathirage agreed to transport the machinery from Frankfurt to Colombo on gratis basis and Regional Manager Sri Lankan Airlines Mohan Meegolle supported by coordinating the arrangements of the airlift. Chairperson/MEPA Dharshani Lahandapura and her team facilitated both the initial discussions and the processes involved in donating of the equipment.

The High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore extends its appreciation to President and CEO Jacob Duer and the team from the Alliance for offering assistance towards Sri Lanka’s beach clean-up efforts with the donation of BeachTech Sweepy machines and looks forward to working with the “The Alliance to End Plastic Waste”, in furthering partnerships and building networks to protect the marine environment of the country.

Foreign Ministry

Colombo

02 August 2021

(https://mfa.gov.lk/mepa-alliance/)

THE FIRST CONSIGNMENT OF ASTRAZENECA VACCINES RECEIVED FROM JAPAN AT THE REQUEST OF THE PRESIDENT ARRIVED IN SRI LANKA DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY

Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena expressed his gratitude to the Government of Japan and its people on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka for donating over 1.4 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to Sri Lanka at the request of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, under the COVAX facility. He made these special comments speaking at a media briefing at the Katunayaka Bandaranaike International Airport on Saturday (31/07) afternoon, after receiving the first consignment of the AstraZeneca vaccines (over 700, 000) donated by Japan.

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wrote to the Prime Minister of Japan requesting for a consignment of AstraZeneca vaccines to save the people of Sri Lanka from the COVID pandemic. Following this request, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Japan Sanjiv Gunasekara under the guidance of Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, and Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Sugiyama Akira worked towards realizing this donation along with the UNICEF and the WHO in Sri Lanka. The Chief Sangha Nayaka of Japan Ven. Banagala Upatissa Nayaka Thero also assisted in this effort. Minister Gunawardena said that this consignment of vaccines will be used primarily to give the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine to the 490,000 people in the country who had received the first dose.

This consignment of vaccines, brought to the Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport aboard a SriLankan Airlines flight UL 455 arrived from Narita Airport, Japan last Saturday afternoon, was received by Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena accompanied by Ambassador of Japan to Sri Lanka Sugiyama Akira, Minister of Health Pavithra Devi Wanniarachchi, Minister of State Prof. Channa Jayasumana, Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga, Secretary to the Foreign Ministry Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage, officials from the Health Ministry, and representatives from UNICEF, WHO and other dignitaries.

Foreign Ministry

Colombo

02 August, 2021

(https://mfa.gov.lk/japan-sl/)

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Canada calls on the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and meets with representatives of all religious faiths in Toronto

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Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner in Canada, M.A.K. Girihagama called on the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, Hon. Ted Arnott on 28^th March 2019 at the Legislative Building in Ontario. The High Commissioner briefed Hon. Arnott on recent developments in Sri Lanka and the long standing bilateral relations shared between Sri Lanka and Canada. He also referred to the on-going reconciliation process in Sri Lanka and development assistance provided by Canada in this regard. Speaker Arnott thanked the High Commissioner and assured him of Ontario’s engagement on issues of mutual interest. The High Commissioner and the Speaker also agreed to continue working towards further enhancing the bilateral ties between Sri Lanka and Ontario.

Following the meeting with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, the High Commissioner also held discussions with Rev. Pastor Marc Dissanayake and the Board of Trustees at the Christian Ministries International followed by a meeting with the President and Chief Priest Vijayakumar Kurukkal and the Board of Trustees of Varasiththy Vinayagar Hindu Temple.

VIDEO OF COUNTERFEIT “NIKE” SHOES WITH LTTE INSIGNIA CIRCULATING ON SOCIAL MEDIA

The attention of this Ministry was drawn to a video circulating on social media of a pair of shoes, bearing the NIKE logo and LTTE insignia.

On inquiry, NIKE, Inc. confirmed that the shoes depicted in the video have not been manufactured by NIKE.

The NIKE, Inc. also informed that they would investigate to ascertain the abuse of intellectual property and conduct appropriate enforcement as per company practice.

Foreign Ministry
Colombo

31 July, 2021

(https://mfa.gov.lk/nike-fm/)

Awareness Programmes for the inscription of Tripitaka to be a World Heritage

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The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Toronto in co-ordination with the Buddhist temples in Toronto organized a series of events to mark the inscription of Tripitaka to be a World Heritage.

On Saturday, 16^th March 2019, the first event was organized at the West End Buddhist Temple & Meditation Centre in Mississauga. The programme commenced with the observance of the five precepts followed by the Buddha Pooja. This was followed by two lectures which were conducted during the event on ‘Introduction to Tripitaka’ by Ven. Kusalagnana Thero and on ‘Thripitaka and Spiritual values of Sri Lankan Social Life’ by Dr. Sarath Chandrasekera of the University of Toronto.