Commencement of work for 2019 – Sri Lanka Embassy in Havana 

Ceremony to commence the work for the year 2019 was held at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Havana on 3^rd January with the participation of all members of the staff. The proceedings were started with the hoisting of the National Flag by Ambassador A.L. Ratnapala, followed by singing the National Anthem in Sinhala and Tamil and then lighting the oil lamp by the Ambassador and all the staff. Two minutes silence was also observed to commemorate all those who sacrificed their lives for the motherland. All Mission staff took the Oath of Public Service to affirm their commitment to serving the people, while emphasizing the economic empowerment of the nation through accelerated development ensuring benefits to every citizen and for future generations, during the New Year. While wishing all staff a happy and prosperous New Year, the Ambassador thanked the staff for their valuable support extended last year and requested their continued support to carry forward the work programme of the Mission in 2019 as well to further enhance longstanding relations between Sri Lanka and Cuba and also with all other concurrently accredited countries. The event concluded with a traditional breakfast. 

FOREIGN MINISTER MARAPANA CALLS ON SRI LANKAN DIPLOMATS TO BOOST THE IMAGE OF SRI LANKA OVERSEAS THROUGH EFFECTIVE EXECUTION OF PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana has called on Sri Lankan diplomats to boost the image of Sri Lanka overseas through efficient and effective execution of public diplomacy, utilizing its intrinsic brands such as Buddhism, gems, tea, spices, high-end export products and the warmth of traditional Sri Lankan hospitality.

Minister Marapana made these remarks at the certificate awarding ceremony on Friday (11 January) of the two-week long Public Diplomacy and Media Relations training programme, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its officials in collaboration with the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) with a view to enhancing their public diplomacy and media relations skills. The programme was attended by the officers of the 2018 intake of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service and a group of mid-level officers serving in the Ministry.

This was the first time in two decades that the Ministry organized a professional training programme dedicated to public diplomacy and media relations for its officials.

Addressing the certificate awarding ceremony, Foreign Minister Tilak Marapana stressed the importance of portraying Sri Lanka’s image overseas as a civilized nation with people full of loving kindness who feel for each other and an abundance of talent.  “That message has to be given loud and clear” the Minister said. He urged Sri Lankan diplomats to be innovative in this image-building exercise and in changing perceptions about Sri Lanka. The Minister also observed that skills in public diplomacy and media relations would be extremely useful in these endeavours.

Speaking at the event, Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha  said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a pivotal role to play in public diplomacy both at home and abroad and this rigorous training programme has equipped  several groups of foreign service officers at different levels with the necessary skills to execute the public diplomacy agenda of the government for the next twenty years. While emphasizing the necessity  for diplomats to build relationships with the media, he said the two-week training programme provided a platform for the diplomats and the journalistic community to engage in understanding each other’s perspectives, paving way for an enduring relationship.

The programme which aimed at helping participants understand the concepts and methods of public diplomacy, its dimensions, and its role in the information age, was oriented to train officials in the practical application of different public diplomacy tools in their line of work. It included lectures on theoretical aspects of public diplomacy and media relations by senior journalists, Colombo-based foreign diplomats, experts and practitioners, covering a wide range of issues including the history of public diplomacy, role of media in shaping public opinion, social media, interaction with media and the freedom of expression in the context of the RTI Act.

It also included sessions with experts and practitioners including resident foreign correspondents and diplomats , on the practical aspects of public diplomacy such as news release writing, conducting press conferences, giving interviews and using social media effectively, with participants facing mock press conferences and interviews on camera. They also visited the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation and the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House) to gain first-hand experience of the functioning of a ‘news room’.

The participating officials also had discussions with journalists as to how Sri Lankan diplomats could do better in media relations and on the needs of media in Sri Lanka and abroad with respect to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Sri Lanka Missions overseas.

Senior officials of the Foreign Ministry and its affiliated institutions, officials of the Sri Lanka Press Institute and the Sri Lanka College of Journalism and resource persons of the training programme attended the certificate awarding ceremony. It was followed by a reception.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

13 January 2019

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මහජන රාජ්‍යතාන්ත්‍රිකභාවය ඵලදායී ලෙස ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීම මඟින් විදේශ රටවලදී ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රතිරූපය වර්ධනය කරන ලෙස විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය තිලක් මාරපන මහතා ශ්‍රී ලාංකික රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන්ගෙන් ඉල්ලයි

බුදුදහම, මැණික්, තේ, කුළුබඩු, විශිෂ්ට තත්ත්වයේ අපනයන නිෂ්පාදන සහ සාම්ප්‍රදායික             ශ්‍රී ලාංකික ආගන්තුක සත්කාර වැනි අප රටට ආවේණික සන්නාම භාවිතා කරමින්, මහජන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රිකභාවය කාර්යක්ෂම සහ ඵලදායි ලෙස භාවිතා කිරීම මඟින් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රතිරූපය විදේශ රටවලදී වර්ධනය කරන ලෙස විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය තිලක් මාරපන මහතා  ශ්‍රී ලාංකික රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන්ගෙන් ඉල්ලා සිටියේය.

අමාත්‍ය මාරපන මහතා විසින් මෙම ඉල්ලීම කරනු ලැබූයේ, සිය නිලධාරීන්ගේ මහජන රාජ්‍යතාන්ත්‍රික කටයුතු සහ ජනමාධ්‍ය සබඳතා පිළිබඳ කුසලතා වැඩි දියුණු කිරීමේ අරමුණෙන් විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය ශ්‍රී ලංකා පුවත්පත් ආයතනයේ සහයෝගයෙන් සංවිධානය කළ මහජන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රිකභාවය හා ජනමාධ්‍ය සබඳතා පිළිබඳ දෙසති පුහුණු වැඩසටහනේ සහතිකපත් ප්‍රදානය කිරීමේ උත්සවය ඉකුත් සිකුරාදා දින (ජනවාරි 11) පැවැති අවස්ථාවේදීය.       ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවයට 2018 වසරේදී බඳවා ගනු ලැබූ නවක නිලධාරීහු සහ දැනට අමාත්‍යාංශයේ සේවය කරන මධ්‍යම මට්ටමේ නිලධාරීහු කණ්ඩායමක් මෙම පුහුණු වැඩසටහනට සහභාගී වූහ.

මහජන රාජ්‍යතාන්ත්‍රිකභාවය සහ ජනමාධ්‍ය සබඳතා වෙනුවෙන් කැපවූ මෙවැනි වෘත්තීමය පුහුණු වැඩසටහනක් විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය සිය නිලධාරීන් වෙනුවෙන් සංවිධානය කරනු ලැබූයේ දශක දෙකකට පසු පළමු වරටය.

සහතිකපත් ප්‍රදානය කිරීමේ උත්සවය අමතා කතා කළ විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍ය තිලක් මාරපන මහතා, එකිනෙකා කෙරෙහි කරුණාව දක්වන මෛත්‍රියෙන් පිරි ජනතාවගෙන්ද සුලබව ඇති කුසලතාවලින්ද සමන්විත ශිෂ්ට සම්පන්න රටක් වශයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ප්‍රතිරූපය විදේශ රටවල නිරූපණය කිරීමේ වැදගත්කම අවධාරණය කළේය. “එම පණිවිඩය ඉතා පැහැදිලිව ලබා දිය යුතු” යැයි අමාත්‍යවරයා ප්‍රකාශ කළේය. මෙම ප්‍රතිරූප වර්ධන ව්‍යායාමයේදී සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව පිළිබඳව ඇති අවබෝධයන් වෙනස් කරලීමේදී නව්‍යතාවෙන් යුතුව සිතා කටයුතු කරන ලෙසට ඔහු         ශ්‍රී ලාංකික රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන්ගෙන් උදක්ම ඉල්ලා සිටියේය. මෙම කාර්යයන්වලදී මහජන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රිකභාවය සහ ජනමාධ්‍ය සබඳතා පිළිබඳ කුසලතා බෙහෙවින් ප්‍රයෝජනවත් වන බවද අමාත්‍යවරයා පැවැසීය.

මෙම උත්සවය ඇමතූ විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් රවිනාථ ආර්යසිංහ මහතා, මහජන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික කටයුතු සම්බන්ධයෙන් මෙරටදී මෙන්ම විදේශවලදීද විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශයට ප්‍රධාන භූමිකාවක් රඟදැක්වීමට ඇති බවත්, ඊළඟ විසි වසර තුළ රජයේ මහජන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික කටයුතු පිළිබඳ න්‍යාය පත්‍රය ක්‍රියාත්මක කිරීමට අවශ්‍ය කුසලතාවලින් ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදේශ සේවයේ විවිධ මට්ටම්වල කණ්ඩායම් රැසක් සන්නද්ධ කිරීමට මෙම ප්‍රබල පුහුණු වැඩසටහන සමත් වූ බවත් ප්‍රකාශ කළේය. රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන් ජනමාධ්‍ය සමඟ සබඳතා ගොඩ නඟා ගැනීමේ අවශ්‍යතාව අවධාරණය කළ ඒ මහතා,චිරස්ථායි සම්බන්ධතාවකට මඟ පාදමින්, රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන්ට සහ ජනමාධ්‍යවේදී ප්‍රජාවට එකිනෙකාගේ දෘෂ්ටිකෝණ අවබෝධ කරගැනීමේ කර්තව්‍යයේ නියැළීමේ වේදිකාවක් මෙම දෙසති පුහුණු වැඩසටහන විසින් නිර්මාණය කරන ලද බව පැවැසීය.

මහජන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රිකභාවයේ සංකල්ප සහ ක්‍රමවේද, එහි මානයන් සහ තොරතුරු යුගයේ එහි භූමිකාව පිළිබඳව සහභාගීවන්නන් තුළ අවබෝධයක් ඇති කිරීමට සහය වීම අරමුණු කරගත් මෙම පුහුණු වැඩසටහන, සිය රාජකාරි කටයුතුවලදී විවිධ මහජන රාජ්‍යතාන්ත්‍රික මෙවලම් ප්‍රායෝගික වශයෙන් භාවිතා කිරීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් නිලධාරීන් පුහුණු කිරීම පිණිස සකස් කොට තිබිණි. මහජන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රිකභාවයේ ඉතිහාසය, ජනමතය ගොඩනැංවීමෙහිලා ජනමාධ්‍යවල භූමිකාව, සමාජ මාධ්‍ය, ජනමාධ්‍ය සමඟ කටයුතු කිරීම, හා තොරතුරු දැනගැනීමේ පනතෙහි සන්දර්භය තුළ අදහස් ප්‍රකාශ කිරීමේ නිදහස ඇතුළු පුළුල් පරාසයකට අයත් කරුණු ආවරණය කරමින් ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන්, කොළඹ සිටින විදේශීය රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන්, ප්‍රාමාණිකයන් සහ වෘත්තිකයන් විසින් මහජන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රිකභාවයේ සහ ජනමාධ්‍ය සබඳතාවල න්‍යායාත්මක අංග පිළිබඳව කරනු ලැබූ දේශන ඊට ඇතුළත් විය.

මාධ්‍ය නිවේදන ලිවීම, මාධ්‍ය සාකච්ඡා පැවැත්වීම, සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡා ලබාදීම සහ සමාජ මාධ්‍ය ඵලදායි ලෙස භාවිතා කිරීම වැනි මහජන රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රිකභාවයේ ප්‍රායෝගික අංග සම්බන්ධයෙන් මෙරට වාසය කරන විදේශ වාර්තාකරුවන් සහ විදේශීය රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන්ද ඇතුළුව ප්‍රාමාණිකයන් සහ වෘත්තිකයන් සමඟ පැවැත්වූ සැසිවාරද පුහුණු වැඩසටහනට ඇතුළත් විය. වැඩසටහනට සහභාගී වූ නිලධාරීහූ රූපවාහිනි කැමරා ඉදිරිපිට පැවැත්වූ ව්‍යාජ මාධ්‍ය සාකච්ඡා සහ සම්මුඛ සාකච්ඡාවලටද මුහුණ දුන්හ.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා රූපවාහිනී සංස්ථාව, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ගුවන් විදුලි සංස්ථාව සහ සීමාසහිත එක්සත් ප්‍රවෘත්තිපත්‍ර සමාගම (ලේක් හවුස් ආයතනය) වෙත ගිය ඔවුහු ප්‍රවෘත්ති කාමරය ක්‍රියාත්මක වන ආකාරය පිළිබඳව අත්දැකීම් ලැබූහ.

ජනමාධ්‍ය සමඟ පවත්වන සබඳතාවලදී ශ්‍රී ලාංකික රාජ්‍ය තාන්ත්‍රික නිලධාරීන්ට වඩා හොඳින් කටයුතු කළ හැක්කේ කෙසේද යන්න ගැනත් විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය සහ විදේශයන්හි පිහිටි ශ්‍රී ලංකා දූත මණ්ඩල සම්බන්ධයෙන් ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ සහ විදේශවල ඇති ජනමාධ්‍ය සතුව පවතින අවශ්‍යතා ගැනත් වැඩසටහනට සහභාගී වූ නිලධාරීහූ ජනමාධ්‍යවේදීන් සමඟ සාකච්ඡා කළහ.

විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ හා ඊට අනුබද්ධ ආයතනවල ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීහූ, ශ්‍රී ලංකා පුවත්පත් ආයතනයේ හා ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනමාධ්‍ය විද්‍යාලයේ නිලධාරීහූ සහ පුහුණු වැඩසටහනෙහි සම්පත් දායකයෝ මෙම සහතිකපත් ප්‍රදානය කිරීමේ උත්සවයට සහභාගී වූහ. සහතිකපත් ප්‍රදානය කිරීමේ උත්සවයෙන් අනතුරුව ප්‍රිය සම්භාෂණයක්ද පැවැත්විණි.

විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය

කොළඹ

1. ජනවාරි 13 වැනිදා

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பொது இராஜதந்திரத்தினை வினைத்திறனாக கையாள்வதனூடாக கடல்கடந்த நாடுகளில் இலங்கையின் நாமத்தை வலுவூட்டுமாறு இலங்கை இராஜதந்திரிகளை வெளிநாட்டு அமைச்சர் மாரபன வலியுறுத்துகின்றார்

பௌத்தம், இரத்தினக்கற்கள், தேயிலை, வாசனைத்திரவியங்கள், சிறப்பு வாய்ந்த ஏற்றுமதி உற்பத்திகள் மற்றும் இலங்கைக்கே உரித்தான பாரம்பரிய உபசரிப்பு போன்ற இலங்கையின் அடிப்படை சின்னங்களைப் பயன்படுத்தி பொது இராஜதந்திரத்தினை வினைத்திறனாக கையாள்வதனூடாக கடல்கடந்த நாடுகளில் இலங்கையின் நாமத்தை வலுவூட்டுமாறு இலங்கை இராஜதந்திரிகளை வெளிநாட்டு அமைச்சர் மாரபன வலியுறுத்தினார்.

வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சின் உத்தியோகத்தர்களது பொது இராஜதந்திரம் மற்றும் ஊடக உறவுகள் தொடர்பான திறமைகளை வலுவூட்டும் நோக்கில் இலங்கை பத்திரிகை ஸ்தாபானத்துடன் இணைந்து வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சினால் ஒழுங்கு செய்யப்பட்ட இரண்டு வாரங்களாக நடாத்தப்பட்ட பொது இராஜதந்திரம் மற்றும் ஊடக உறவுகள் பயிற்றுவிப்பு நிகழ்ச்சித்திட்டத்திற்கான சான்றிதழ் வழங்கும் நிகழ்வின்போது வெள்ளிக்கிழமை (11 ஜனவரி) அமைச்சர் மாரபன இக்கருத்துக்களை பரிமாரிக்கொண்டார். இந்நிகழ்வில் 2018ம் ஆண்டு உள்வாங்கப்பட்ட உத்தியோகத்தர்களும் அமைச்சில் கடமைபுரியும் நடுத்தர உத்தியோகத்தர்களும் கலந்து கொண்டனர்.

இரண்டு தசாப்த காலங்களில், பொது இராஜதந்திரம் மற்றும் ஊடக உறவுகள் தொடர்பாக தனது உத்தியோகத்தர்களுக்காக வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சினால் நடாத்தப்பட்ட முதற் பயிற்சிப்பட்டறை இதுவாகும்.

சான்றிதழ் வழங்கும் வைபவத்தில் பேசும்போது, ஒருவருக்காக மற்றவர் உணர்கின்ற அன்பு நிறைந்த, ஏராளமான திறமைகளைப் பெற்ற மனிதர்களைக் கொண்ட ஓர் நாகரிகமடைந்த தேசமாக இலங்கையின் நாமத்தை வெளிநாடுகளில் பரப்புவதன் முக்கியத்துவத்தை வெளிநாட்டமைச்சர் வலியுறுத்திக் கூறினார். ‘இந்தத் தகவல் தெளிவாகவும் உரக்கவும் கொடுக்கப்பட வேண்டும்’ எனவும் தெரிவித்தார். இலங்கை பற்றிய பார்வைகளை மாற்றியமைப்பதிலும் இலங்கையின் நாமத்தை கட்டியெழுப்புகின்ற செயற்பாட்டிலும் இலங்கை இராஜதந்திரிகள் புத்தாக்கத்துடன் செயற்பட வேண்டும் எனவும் வலியுறுத்தினார். பொது இராஜதந்திரம் மற்றும் ஊடக உறவுகள் தொடர்பான திறமைகள் மேற்சொன்ன முயற்சிகளுக்கு பெரிதும் பயன்மிக்கதாக அமையும் என்றும் குறித்துக்காட்டினார்.

நிகழ்வில் பேசும்போது, வெளிநாட்டு செயலாளர் ரவிநாத ஆர்யசிங்க அவர்கள் நாட்டிலும் வெளிநாடுகளிலும் பொது இராஜதந்திர செயற்பாடுகளில் வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சுக்கு பாரிய பொறுப்பு இருக்கின்றது என்றும் இந்த கடுமையான பயிற்சி நெறி வரும் இருபது வருடங்களுக்கு, அரசாங்கத்தின் பொது இராஜதந்திர நிகழ்ச்சி நிரலை செயற்படுத்துவதற்கு போதுமான பல்வேறு தரங்களிலுள்ள வெளிநாட்டு சேவை உத்தியோகத்தர்களை பயிற்றுவித்திருக்கின்றது என்றும் தெரிவித்தார். ஊடகத்துடனான உறவை கட்டியெழுப்புவதன் அவசியத்தை அவர் வலியுறுத்தும்போது, இரு வார பயிற்சி நெறி இராஜதந்திரிகளும் ஊடக சமூகமும் ஒருவரையொருவர் பரஸ்பர தொடர்ந்தேர்ச்சியான புரிந்துணர்வுடன் பழகுவதற்கும் நிலையான ஓர் உறவை கட்டியெழுப்புவதற்கும் வழியமைத்தது என்றும் கூறினார்.

கருத்தியல்கள், பொது இராஜதந்திர முறைமைகள், அதன் பரப்புக்கள் மற்றும் தகவல் யுகத்தில் அதன் வகிபங்கு என்பவற்றை பங்குபற்றியவர்கள் புரிந்து கொள்வதற்கு துணைபுரிவதனை நோக்காகக் கொண்ட இந்நிகழ்ச்சி உத்தியோகத்தர்களது வேலைகளில் எதிர்கொள்கின்ற பல்வேறு பொது இராஜதந்திர கருவிகளின் நடைமுறைப் பிரயோகம் தொடர்பாக உத்தியோகத்தர்களை பயிற்றுவிப்பதனை இலக்காகக் கொண்டிருந்தது. மேலும் சிரேஷ்ட ஊடகவியலாளர்கள், கொழும்பிலுள்ள வெளிநாட்டு இராஜதந்திரிகள், சிறப்புத்தேர்ச்சி கொண்டோர் மற்றும் துறைசார் நிபுணர்களால் நடாத்தப்பட்ட கருத்தியல் ரீதியான விரிவுரைகளையும் உட்பொதிந்திருந்தது. அந்த விரிவுரைகள் பொது இராஜதந்திரத்தின் வரலாறு, பொது மக்களின் கருத்துக்களை வடிவமைப்பதில் ஊடகத்தின் வகிபங்கு, சமூக ஊடகங்கள், ஊடகங்களுடன் தொடர்புறுதல் மற்றும் தகவல் அறியும் உரிமை சட்டத்திற்கேற்ப கருத்துச் சுதந்திரம் போன்ற பரந்த அம்சங்களை உள்ளடக்கியிருந்தன.

ஊடக வெளியீட்டினை தயாரித்தல், ஊடக சந்திப்புக்களை நடாத்துதல், ஊடக நேர்காணல்களை மேற்கொள்ளுதல், சமூக ஊடகங்களை தாக்கம் செலுத்தக் கூடியதாக பயன்படுத்துதல், நிகழ்ச்சியில் பங்குபற்றியோருடனான சூடான ஊடக சந்திப்புக்கள், கெமெராவுடனான நேர்காணல்கள் போன்ற பொது இராஜதந்திர நடைமுறை விடயங்கள் தொடர்பாக வெளிநாட்டு ஊடக நிருபர்கள் மற்றும் இராஜதந்திரிகள் உள்ளடங்களாக துறைசார் நிபுணர்கள் மற்றும் சிறப்புத்தேர்ச்சி கொண்டோர்களுடனான அமர்வுகளையும் இந்நிகழ்ச்சி கொண்டிருந்தது. செய்தி அறையின் தொழிற்பாடுகளின் முதல் அனுபவத்தினை பெற்றுக் கொள்வதற்காக இலங்கை ரூபவாஹினி கூட்டுத்தாபனம், இலங்கை ஒலிபரப்பு கூட்டுத்தாபனம் மற்றும் அஸோஸியேடட் நியூஸ் பேபர்ஸ் ஒப் ஸிலோன் லிமிடட்(லேக் ஹவ்ஸ்) ஆகிய இடங்களையும் அவர்கள் தரிசித்தனர்.

வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சு மற்றும் வெளிநாடுகளிலுள்ள இலங்கையின் தூதரகங்களுக்கேற்ப இலங்கை இராஜதந்திரிகள் சிறந்த ஊடக ஊறவுகளை மேற்கொள்வது எவ்வாறு என்றும் இலங்கையிலும் வெளிநாடுகளிலும் அவசியமான ஊடக தேவைகள் தொடர்பாகவும் ஊடகவியலாளர்களுடன்  கலந்து கொண்ட உத்தியோகத்தர்கள் கலந்துரையாடினர்.

வெளிநாட்டு அமைச்சின் சிரேஷ்ட உத்தியோகத்தர்கள் மற்றும் அதன் இணை நிறுவனங்கள் இலங்கை பத்திரிகை ஸ்தாபனம் மற்றும் இலங்கை ஊடக கல்லூரியின் உத்தியோகத்தர்கள் மற்றும் பயிற்சி நெறியின் வளவாளர்கள் இந்த சான்றிதழ் வழங்கும் வைபவத்தில் கலந்து கொண்டனர். அதனை தொடர்ந்து விருந்துபசாரம் பகிரப்பட்டது.

வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சு

கொழும்பு

1. ஜனவரி 2019

MEMBERS OF THE ‘FRIENDS OF SRI LANKA’ GROUP OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PAY OFFICIAL VISIT TO SRI LANKA

At the invitation of the Government of Sri Lanka, members of the ‘Friends of Sri Lanka Group’ of the European Parliament Geoffrey Van Orden, MEP and William (Earl of) Dartmouth, MEP undertook a visit to the country from 2 to 6 January 2019.

During their 5 day stay, the Parliamentarians held wide consultations with representatives of the Government, Opposition, Political Parties as well as other officials.  These meetings facilitated a forum to discuss issues of common interest relating to EU – Sri Lanka co-operation in a number of fields from GSP +, regional issues, governance and the rule of law, civil society issues and human rights amongst others.

In Colombo, they met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Speaker Karu Jayasuriya, Minister of Foreign Affairs Tilak Marapana, Minister of Finance and Mass Media Mangala Samaraweera, Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade Malik Samrawickrema, where discussions were held on the recent political developments, constitutional reforms as well as the need for Sri Lanka to maximize GSP+ utilization for development.   The MEPs welcomed the progress in further consolidating democracy, particularly the rule of law and strengthening the democratic institutions, which was part of their engagement process with Sri Lanka.

The EU Parliamentarians also had the opportunity to meet with the Leader of the Opposition Mahinda Rajapaksa, Leader of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) R. Sampanthan and Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) Rauf Hakeem.

During their visit to Vavuniya the Security Forces Commander / Wanni,    Maj. General Kumudu Perera briefed the MEPs on the key contributions by the Army aiding resettlement activities, which was commended by the MEPs. They also met with the District Secretary (GA) of Vavuniya, and visited a resettlement village in Sithampirapuram/ Vavuniya, where they engaged in an open dialogue with the inhabitants of the area taking stock of the progression in the reconciliation process.

A visit was also arranged to the MAS Fabric Park in Thulhiriya, to familiarize the MEPs on the state-of-the-art sustainable apparel manufacturing carried out by MAS, contributing to employment generation and livelihood and economic empowerment in the area noting the accruing benefits of the GSP+ for the industry.  Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Executive Director, of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies had an interactive session with the MEPs on the geo-political developments in the region and Sri Lanka’s relations with major international players.

The Friends of Sri Lanka Group in the EU Parliament, since its inception in 2006, has been involved in the promotion of EU – Sri Lanka relations complementing the process of EU assistance to Sri Lanka. Geoffrey Van Orden, MEP has served as Chair of the Group since its inception.  Hon. Earl of Dartmouth joined the Group in 2012.

The Friends of Sri Lanka Group, last visited Sri Lanka in February 2016.