Sri Lanka High Commission in Ottawa

The Programme on Decentralization of Consular Services within the purview of the Foreign Ministry is underway. Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage points out that this Programme is being conducted under the instructions and guidance of the Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, in accordance with the scheme by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to bring public services to the village. Secretary Colombage also points out that the three Regional Consular offices in Kandy, Trincomalee and Kurunegala districts have been dedicated to public service in the previous ten months under the present Government and that preliminary action has been taken to establish two other Regional offices in Badulla and Ampara districts before the end of this year.

“More than two thousand people from different areas of the country arrive at the Consular Division of the Foreign Ministry in Colombo daily to obtain Consular services and the Ministry has been obliged to limit public visits and impose restrictions for not having the services rendered without a prior appointment on account of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. In view of providing relief to those who become uncomfortable due to this condition, the Foreign Ministry has taken action to establish Regional Consular offices at provincial level as one of its initial steps. These Regional Consular Services are able to perform special services including facilitating payment of compensation, unpaid salaries, social security entitlements for the Sri Lankan migrant employees and their next of kin, bringing back to the country the dead bodies of Sri Lankan nationals who have passed away, authenticating the certificates and documents, getting the fishing vessels and fishermen in foreign custody released, registration of births and deaths occurring abroad and assisting in bringing back the deserted Sri Lankans abroad. Preliminary activities are being carried out to establish the Badulla and Ampara offices within this year amidst financial difficulties, on the instructions given by President Rajapaksa to make public services closer to people in villages.  Secretary Colombage further mentioned that the Provincial Councils and Local Government Authorities also provide a huge support for this program.’’

Foreign Ministry

Colombo

05 August, 2021

(https://mfa.gov.lk/regional-consular/)

New Zealand and Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministers, Nanaia Mahuta and Dinesh Gunawardena, have welcomed the opening of the New Zealand High Commission in Colombo next week.

The Foreign Ministers, who met virtually yesterday, spoke about the opening of the High Commission as a major milestone in the bilateral relationship. Both Ministers stressed that New Zealand's diplomatic presence in Sri Lanka is a further affirmation of the significance of the steadily expanding bilateral engagement in recent times.

“Our countries and our peoples have been good friends for over 70 years, including through New Zealand’s early commitment to the Colombo Plan in 1950,” Minister Mahuta said. “Sri Lanka and New Zealand have a lot in common, as diverse, island nations making our way in a complex geostrategic world.”

“The opening of our High Commission in Colombo is a signal of New Zealand’s long-term commitment to Sri Lanka, in realms as varied as the strategic, economic, educational, cultural, sporting and people-to-people. There’s still a lot of potential to realise in our relationship, and the new High Commission is New Zealand’s recognition of that.”

Minister Gunawardena appreciated the opening of the New Zealand High Commission as a timely move as “our two countries work together in a geostrategically more complex region”. He expressed confidence that it would contribute to the advancement of bilateral trade while also supporting efforts at promoting investments. "Sri Lanka stands for and encourages safe, orderly and regular migration, and welcomes potential investors and tourists from New Zealand,” emphasized Minister Gunawardena.

Minister Gunawardena also recalled the history of close bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and New Zealand and the visit to Sri Lanka of New Zealand Prime Minister Walter Nash during the tenure of Minister’s Gunawardena’s late father Philip Gunawardena as Minister of Agriculture and Food in 1958. Prime Minister Nash’s visit featured the opening of the National Milk Board and the Dental Training Institute funded by the New Zealand Government under the Colombo Plan.

Ministers Mahuta and Gunawardena also discussed the (virtual) ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers Meeting on Friday 6 August.

The New Zealand High Commission in Colombo is due to open on Tuesday 10 August. An official opening ceremony will take place in due course, once conditions permit.

Colombo

04 August, 2021

(https://mfa.gov.lk/new-zealand-fm/)

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/)

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/)

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/)

The speech of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa at the opening of the Regional Consular Office of the Foreign Ministry in Kurunegala.

The video can be viewed through the following link.

https://youtu.be/2hQBDwR4NnQ

Between 30-50% of mangroves have been lost over the past 50 years. New approaches for the restoration of mangroves are emerging; benefiting from new, low-cost technologies and supporting the resilience of local communities through empowered engagement and innovative funding. As has been underlined by the recent X-Press Pearl disaster, off the coast of Sri Lanka, coastal mangrove ecosystems are vulnerable to a wide range of possible stressors, which requires reliable monitoring and response plans.

33 of the 54 Commonwealth countries hold mangrove ecosystems, representing 22% of the global mangrove holdings. The Mangrove Ecosystems and Livelihoods Action Group (MELAG), championed by Sri Lanka, has been working with its members to identify the priorities for action, innovative ways for financing, that can trigger conservation and sustainable use, develop enabling policies and initiate data governance for an informed decision-making process.

Celebrating the International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem declared by UNESCO, the Foreign Ministry was a part of two initiatives.

As a joint coordinator for the Commonwealth Blue Charter Action Group on Mangrove Ecosystems and Livelihoods (MELAG), the Ocean Affairs, Environment and Climate Change Division of the Foreign Ministry, together with the Commonwealth Secretariat organized a webinar on the theme “International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystem: Mapping Mangrove Ecosystems”. This theme was to raise awareness of the importance of mangrove ecosystems as “a unique, special and vulnerable ecosystem" and to promote solutions for their sustainable management, conservation and uses.

The webinar was aimed towards Commonwealth government officials, interested in how satellite images can help paint a comprehensive picture of global mangrove coverage. This knowledge can contribute to national policies and plans, blue carbon strategies, and Nationally Determined Contributions.

The speakers at the webinar included the Director General of Ocean Affairs, Environment and Climate Change Hasanthi Urugodawatte Dissanayake, describing the role of Sri Lanka’s leading role in the MELAG, key achievements and the ramifications of the X-Press Pearl ship Disaster on mangrove ecosystems; Director, Biodiversity Secretariat of the Ministry of Environment Pathma Abeykoon,  focussing on Sri Lanka’s achievements in mangrove conservation and restoration, including formulation of policy, guidelines and the action plan and importance of high resolution satellite images for mapping and monitoring; and Geospatial Research Fellow at the Institute of Marine Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago Nikia Gooding on their experience in using satellite and aerial photography to monitor mangroves, and Strategic Accounts of EMSA Planets satellite company Mark Richardson on how the company is collaborating with countries, particularly in mapping corals and mangroves. The webinar was moderated by Advisor on Ocean Governance, Blue Charter Project Dr. Jeff Ardon lead at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Over 75 participants joined the webinar, across the globe, comprising mostly from the Commonwealth fraternity.

Further, celebrating this special day, the Department of Forests organized a mangrove planting campaign at the ‘Omari Lagoon’ in the east coast, under the auspices of the State Minister of Wildlife Protection, Adoption of Safety Measures including the Construction of Electrical Fences and Trenches and Re-foreststation and Forest Resource Development, Honourable Wimalaweera Disssanayake. The Foreign Ministry was represented by Director General of Ocean Affairs, Environment and Climate Change and the team.

The Omari Lagoon is a unique lagoon which is not directly connected to the sea; as the area is lower that the sea level, there is constant salinity seeping through the soil. Because of the mangroves, salinity is prevented from reaching the inland further. This allows rice cultivation to take place close to the mangroves. During the rainy season, the mud flats get flooded and fish in the mud flats come out and breed fast, enabling another livelihood option for the local communities – fisheries. This is a beautiful example of why we should conserve mangroves – as it directly contributes to livelihoods, in addition to of course the scientific fact that mangroves sequester 3 - 4 time more carbon than tropical forests.

Foreign Ministry

Colombo

29 July, 2021

(https://mfa.gov.lk/mangrove-ecosystem/)