State Minister Susil Premajayantha reiterates need to maintain close ties with neighbouring states
State Minister Susil Premajayantha assumed duties as the State Minister of International Cooperation on 28 November 2019 and was received by Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha and other senior officials upon his arrival at the Foreign Ministry in Colombo.
Minister Premajayantha addressing the gathering of senior officials, staff and media at the Ministry, following the assumption of duties, stated that he takes over duties as the State Minister in charge of International Cooperation at a time when President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government faces many challenges in addressing prevailing issues in the international sphere. The State Minister reiterated that Sri Lanka will maintain its non-aligned foreign policy and remain an independent and sovereign nation, which maintains friendly relations with all states, especially the regional states and close neighbours with whom Sri Lanka has upheld close and friendly ties over the years.
The State Minister highlighted that he is looking forward to working in close collaboration with Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Foreign Secretary Aryasinha and the officials of the Ministry in achieving the foreign policy objectives of the country under the leadership of President Rajapaksa.
Ministry of Foreign Relations
Colombo
29 November 2019
Alleged incident relating to Swiss Embassy staff member
The Government of Sri Lanka has taken serious note of the alleged criminal incident concerning a locally recruited staff member of the Embassy of Switzerland in Colombo, on Monday 25 November 2019.
On being informed of the alleged incident yesterday, the Police has taken immediate action to commence an investigation into the matter.
In order to enable the relevant authorities to conduct the investigation smoothly and according to established procedure, the fullest cooperation of the Embassy of Switzerland has been requested.
Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Germany who is concurrently accredited to Switzerland, Eng. Karunasena Hettiarachchi will be meeting with the Swiss authorities to provide an update on the investigation, shortly.
The Government of Sri Lanka takes this opportunity to reaffirm unequivocally its commitment to give effect to the obligations undertaken as a State Party to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961), to facilitate the smooth functioning of diplomatic missions in Sri Lanka.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
28 November 2019