Sri Lanka seeks to enhance links with Belarus

Tuesday, 29 December 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

An official delegation from the Sri Lankan Embassy in Moscow, Russian Federation, with concurrent accreditation to the Republic of Belarus made an official visit to Belarus since Prof. M D. Lamawansa assumed duties as the Ambassador to Russia in May 2020.

The primary objective of the visit was to present the copies of the Ambassador’s Credentials to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus and to open the avenues to further enhance bilateral relationship in the fields of trade, tourism, education, defence and health.

The visit included a number of high-level meetings with political leaders, leading businessmen, rectors of prominent universities, Members of Sri Lankan Community and Sri Lankan students enrolled at universities in four different cities across Belarus. The Ambassador and his team held fruitful discussions with the Deputy Foreign Minister, Education Minister, Health Minister and senior Defence Ministry representatives, as well as the Head of the Foreign Ministry Directorate of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The Ambassador also met the Rectors of several key Medical Universities of Belarus located in the cities of Grodno, Vitebsk and Gomel, as well as the Belarus Technical University in the capital city of Minsk. The delegation also got familiarised with the Eco & Eurotorg supermarket chain as an example of leading retail stakeholders in the Belarussian market.

All the meetings were of highly interactive and productive, and the Belarussian side expressed its willingness to work closely with the Sri Lankan Embassy to intensify the existing relations between the two countries. The Ambassador addressed Sri Lankan students, adhering to safety measures, on behavior during crisis, moral obligations as medical students and institutional responsibilities in crisis management. The Ambassador discussed in length with the university administrators of the measures taken to address the student welfare during pandemic. The Ambassador highlighted to the students and university administrators of the commitment of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, State Minister Tharaka Balasuriya and Foreign Secretary Professor Jayanath Colombage to look into the welfare of Sri Lankans studying in foreign countries. On this visit, Ambassador Prof. M. D. Lamawansa was accompanied by his spouse Dr. Thamaramala Kannangara, Mohamed Anas, Minister-Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission, and Olesya Romanova, PA to the Ambassador.