Introductory Remarks by Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana at Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture

January 18, 2018

Introductory Remarks by Hon. Tilak Marapana, Minister of Foreign Affairs & Chairman of the Board of Management of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies

  Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture

 Colombo, 15 January 2018

Our chief guest today, the Hon. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology of the Government of India,
Hon Chief Justice,
Hon Leader of the Opposition,
Mrs. Suganthi Kadirgamar,
Members of the Board of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies,
Your Excellencies,
Distinguished Invitees,
Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is my pleasure, as the Chairman of the Board of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies to introduce our distinguished guest speaker, Hon. Ravi Shankar Prasad,Minister of Law & Justice and Electronics & Information Technology of the Government of India. I am glad that Hon. Prasad has been able to accept our invitation to deliver the Lakshman Kadirgamar memorial lecture this year.

Late Sri Lankabhimanya Lakshman Kadirgamar, in whose memory this lecture is held, is an illustrious son of Sri Lanka. After an extensive practice in Civil Law as a President’s Counsel and a number of years service as Head of Asia Pacific Division of the World Intellectual Property Organization, Mr Kadirgamar entered politics as an appointed member of Parliament in 1994 and was appointed as the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, a portfolio that he held twice from 1994 to 2001, and from April 2004 to August 2005, until his assassination.

He was prophetic about the evolving global threats due to terrorism and called upon the democracies of the world to stand together to fight this global menace. He was also a very strong advocate of democracy and human rights.

Mr Kadirgamar was most importantly a true gentleman. Both in his conduct and at heart. Mild, soft spoken and understanding it was not at all difficult to assess him as a genuine friend after even a brief encounter.

He was loved and admired by the people of this country. He enjoyed the respect and admiration of his counterparts and leaders of foreign countries, and all those who had the privilege of meeting him.

All this was possible for him because of his qualities, not his knowledge and intellect alone which of course, he had in abundance. Anyone could read up and acquire knowledge but it is not possible for everyone to get the love, respect and admiration that Mr Kadirgamar enjoyed, due to his inherent gentlemanly disposition.

I cannot fail to mention the love and support he got from his wife Suganthie and I would credit a good portion of Mr Kadirgamar’s success to his wife Suganthie.

It is partly demonstrated by her untiring efforts in having this memorial lecture organized for the past 12 years or so and the extent to which she went to visit India and persuade  Mr Kadirgamar’s friend Hon Ravi Shankar Prasad to deliver this memorial lecture.

Late Lakshman Kadirgamar was a friend of India, and worked tirelessly towards further enhancing and nurturing relations between our two countries. Amongst his distinguished friends in India were many illustrious political leaders. Therefore, it is a matter of particular satisfaction in having Hon. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law & Justice and IT of the Government of India to deliver the Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Our guest speaker Hon. Ravi Shankar Prasad hails from an illustrious family in Patna, Bihar. A lawyer by profession like his father, he made his name as a prominent lawyer in different branches of law including Constitutional Law, Public Law, Corporate & Criminal Law. His practice was mainly confined to the Supreme Court. During his college days, Hon. Ravi Shankar Prasad has been a student activist and later he has been a human rights and civil liberty activist. As a political activist and organizer, he was the founder of Jansangh in Bihar and was its President for 10 years. He also held the portfolio of Industries in the State Cabinet of Bihar.

He has held national level assignments in the youth wing of the BJP over the years. He became an MP in 2000 and became a Minister of State (Coal & Mines) in 2001 in the Government of Hon Vajpayee. Hon Prasad was given the additional charge of the Minister of State in the Ministry of Law & Justice in July 2002. He became National Spokesperson in 2006 and was re-elected again to the Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from Bihar in April 2006 for the second term and in April 2012 for the third term. He was appointed Minister of Law & Justice and Minister of Telecom & IT in May 2014. His impressive Biodata is much longer. I might summarize and say that Hon Ravi Shankar Prasad is today a much sought after Cabinet Minister in Prime Minister Modi’s Government with a bright future ahead of him.

The theme the guest speaker has selected is “the evolution of India’s Constitutional and Democratic Polity” and it is a subject quite topical to commemorate a person such as Lakshman Kadirgamar who believed in resolving differences through democratic means and Constitutional reform.

Ladies and gentlemen, let me now, as the Chairman of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute, invite Hon. Ravi Shankar Prasad to deliver this year’s Lakshman Kadirgamar Memorial Lecture.

Thank you.

Canberra Sri Lankan community celebrate Christmas with trilingual carols

December 18, 2017

Christmas was celebrated at the High Commission in Canberra with the participation of the Sri Lankan community on the 16th of December

Rev. Father Kevin Harris delivered a blessing and a message highlighting the true meaning of Christmas. He referred to the modest surroundings in which Baby Jesus was born as a reminder to all of the humility associated with the spirit of Christmas.

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The Consular Affairs Division wins e-Swabhimani Award

December 5, 2017

The Consular Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs won an award in the category of ‘‘government and citizen engagement’’, at the Seventh e-Swabhimani 2017 awards ceremony, held at the Hotel Galadari  in Colombo on Thursday, 30th November 2017. The award was in recognition of the Division’s Electronic Document Attestation System (e-DAS), which was developed to integrate greater citizen engagement in consular services and deliver innovative digital solutions to the public.

The online e-DAS enables the Consular Affairs Division to effectively serve more than 450 persons a day, and reduce processing and waiting time per document to a maximum of one hour, in contrast to the previous manual system, whereby a minimum of four hours was required to process and attest one document. The e-DAS has helped greatly reduce the time taken for document attestation and provide more efficient and effective service delivery to the public seeking these consular services.

The Consular Division continues to look at ways and means to improve and streamline services being provided to the public. Since the launch of the e-DAS on 06th February 2017, to date, more than 250,000 documents have been attested for the public. With the reduction of processing time, it has been estimated that approximately a total of 750,000 hours (250,000 documents multiplied by 3 hours of saved processing time for each document) have been saved with the streamlined system provided for attestation of documents through the e-DAS.

In 2009, e-Swabhimani was launched as an initiative of the Information Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka aiming at recognizing excellence in creating digital applications which make definite social impacts in solving the real needs of people. This year the e-Swabhimani attracted a record number of 205 submissions, and these were accepted across nine categories, including government and citizen engagement.

The awarding of the e-Swabhimani award to the Consular Affairs Division, is the fourth award that the Division had won in the past few months. In October 2017, the Consular Affairs Division was awarded the Public Sector Most Outstanding ICT Achievement Award; the Gold Award in the Government and Public Sector Category at the 19th National Best Quality ICT awards and the Asian Oceanian Computing Industry Organization (ASOCIO) Award for Digital Government.

Mrs. Grace Asirwatham, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. S.S. Ganegama Arachchi, Senior Director General of the Consular Affairs Division and the officials of the Division attended the awards ceremony and represented  the Ministry.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo

04th December 2017

Sri Lanka Festival 2017 – Photographs

November 29, 2017

State Dance Ensemble enthral crowds at the Sri Lanka Festival 2017 in Canberra

November 27, 2017

Vibrantly colourful and authentic portrayal of traditional Sri Lankan dance and drumming by the State Dance Ensemble led by its Artistic Director and renowned choreographer, dancer and drummer Ravibandhu Vidyapathy, enthralled all present at the Sri Lanka Festival 2017 on Saturday 25th November in Canberra. They performed several items throughout the day starting with namaskara gaatha and Saraswathie Pooja and going on to low country, and Kandyan dancing traditions, with the grand finale of Bheri Vrunda or Drum Orchestra, that resonated throughout the grounds.

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SRI LANKA FESTIVAL 2017

November 26, 2017

Winning Ticket Numbers of the Raffle draw at the Sri Lanka Festival 2017 are:

First Prize:      Ticket No SLHC 0113

Second Prize:  Ticket No SLHC 0925

Third Prize:     Ticket No SLHC 0050

Fourth Prize:   Ticket No SLHC 0668

The High Commission wishes to the Sri Lankan Consulate Offices in Australia, Sri Lanka Associations in ACT and volunteers who helped in selling the tickets.

We also thank Srilankan Airlines for sponsoring the first prize of a return air ticket to Colombo.

Sri Lanka and Australia successfully conclude Second Round of Senior Officials’ Talks

November 17, 2017

The Second Round of Senior Officials’ Talks between the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade concluded in Canberra on 16th November 2017.

The Senior Officials’ Talks is a structured platform to review the bilateral relations between the two countries and to discuss regional and international issues of common interest and concern. Given the number of high level visits that took place between the two countries in 2017, which also marks the 70th anniversary since the establishment of formal diplomatic ties, the Second Round of Talks provided an opportunity to discuss the progress made in the understandings reached during those visits.

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Deepavali celebrations in Canberra

November 10, 2017

The Sri Lanka High Commission celebrated Deepavali on 9 November at the High Commission premises with the participation of the Canberra Sri Lankan community and the Sri Vishnu Shiva Mandir.

The celebration commenced with a pooja conducted by Pandith Pradeep Bhat to invoke blessings, followed by devotional songs performed by Ms Jeyanthi Kumaranayakam. Former lecturer at University of Jaffna, Mrs. Yogeswary Ganeshalingam spoke about the significance of Deepavali.

Addressing the gathering High Commissioner Somasundaram Skandakumar said “if our thoughts when in a place of worship are matched by our deeds when we are outside it, the essence of Deepavali which is triumph of good over evil and light over darkness will prevail everywhere.”

The Sri Lankan Hindu community in Canberra helped in decorating the High Commission with lights and traditional adornments signifying the Festival of Lights.

Sri Lanka High Commission
Canberra

10 November 2017

Australian Prime meets Sri Lankan Prime Minister at Temple Trees

November 3, 2017

Press Release

Prime Minister Turnbull admired the decision taken by the Sri Lankan Government towards establishing a Parliamentary Budgetary Office and assured Sri Lanka of Australia’s support towards the initiative. Premier Wickremesinghe informed his counterpart that the preliminary steps towards this have been taken and that the Hon. Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament would handle co-ordination with the Australian Government in this regard. Read More »

Sri Lankan Airlines adds Melbourne to its global route network

November 2, 2017

Launch of daily direct services to Colombo

Colombo October 29, 2017: SriLankan Airlines took yet another decisive step forward in extending its route network with the launch of daily non-stop services toMelbourne on 29th October 2017, providing global travelers with a convenient option to visit Australia and travelers from Down Under the opportunity to travel the world via rapid connections in Colombo.

Ajith Dias, Chairman of Sri Lanka’s National Carrier, said: “We at SriLankan Airlines are delighted to launch this new service, which we have no doubt would be of great convenience to all segments of travelers, including the large number of Sri Lankans domiciled in Australia, the many Australians who love to travel overseas and people throughout Asia who visit Down Under.”
Sri Lankan expatriates and students form a large and significant community in Australia, and frequently travel back to their native land. Many of them reside in Melbourne, and other cities in the state of Victoria and neighbouring New South Wales, with smaller numbers throughout the rest of Australia and New Zealand.

Captain Suren Ratwatte, CEO of SriLankan Airlines, said: “We have been extending our route network in a systemic manner throughout Asia – from the Middle East to the Far East – and can now provide Australian travelers excellent options in connectivity, with one-stop journeys to the most popular destinations via Colombo.”

A member of the prestigious oneworld global airline alliance, SriLankan offers convenient connections to 14 cities throughout India, nine in the Middle East and other destinations such as Male and Gan Island in the Maldives, and Seychelles. SriLankan also operates one-stop twice-daily services between Sri Lanka and Australia with itscodeshare partners Qantas and Malaysia Airlines.

Passengers will enjoy the comforts of the airline’s modern Airbus A330 aircraft between Melbourne and Colombo, with flatbeds in Business Class, sophisticated in-flight entertainment and world class service provided by SriLankan’s award winning cabin crew.

The flight schedule is as follows (all times local):

SriLankan has appointed Sri Lankan Aviation Group Pvt Limited as its General Sales Agent in Melbourne. The SriLankan office is located at Suite 546, 1, Queens Road, Melbourne VIC 3004.

Email info@srilankanau.com.au

Telephone 03 8400 4353

Corporate Communications
SriLankan Airlines
www.srilankan.com