Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan hosts Sri Lanka Festival

Thursday, 9 October 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan organised the Sri Lanka Festival in Tokyo for the 11th consecutive year on 27 and 28 September. The Sri Lanka Festival has now become the largest Sri Lankan promotional event in Japan. The key objectives of the Sri Lanka Festival were to project the image and profile of the country and to promote Sri Lankan products, services and tourism from Japan to Sri Lanka, among others. This year, the festival was graced by political dignitaries and senior technocrats both from Sri Lanka and Japan.

Ambassador Admiral Karannagoda with the Chief Guest, Guests of Honour from Sri Lanka and Japan and the Presidents of Sri Lankan Associations based in Japan, at the opening ceremony The former Prime Minister of Japan Yasuo Fukuda was the Chief Guest at the ceremony. The Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan Yoshitaka Shindo and Haruko Komura, spouse of the Vice President of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party of Japan and President of Japan-Sri Lanka Parliamentary League, were Guests of Honour from the Japanese side. The Guests of Honour from the Sri Lankan side were Minister of Indigenous Medicine Salinda Dissanayaka, Deputy Minister of Indigenous Medicine Pandu Bandaranaike and Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries Earl Gunasekara. The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Japan, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, in his opening address, welcomed the distinguished invitees and the gathering and emphasised the congenial and mutually constructive relations between the two countries. Both the Ambassador and the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan underscored and highlighted the bilateral relations between the two countries, which have reached an unprecedented level with the recent visits of the Prime Minister of Japan to Sri Lanka and the President of Sri Lanka to Japan, last year, among other high-level visits between the two countries.

Ambassador Admiral Karannagoda handing over the candle to the Chief Guest, Yasuo Fukuda, former Prime Minister of Japan. Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and Haruko Komura are also present The Sri Lanka Festival was embellished and enthralled by the 16-member Channa-Upuli Dance Troupe and 8-member Navy Beat Group, which were brought from Sri Lanka, specifically, for the festival. In addition, Japanese artistes and cultural troupes also performed at the festival. Most of the Japanese and non-Sri Lankans, apart from the Sri Lankans domiciled in Japan enjoyed and were mesmerised by the traditional Sri Lankan performances to the Sri Lankan fusion of performances and entertainment. The Sri Lanka Festival consisted of well over 100 booths and stalls, marketing and projecting products made, primarily in Sri Lanka. There were over 25 stalls at the Food Mart at the festival serving authentic Sri Lankan food and beverages as well as non-authentic Sri Lankan food. A number of booths and stalls were selling Sri Lankan products and services ranging from garments, gems & Jewellery, handicrafts, ornamental items, financial and banking services to astrological and ayurvedic services, among others. The two-day mega Sri Lanka Festival was attended by well over 250,000 visitors. This year, given the significance of the bilateral relations as well as of the visit of Prime Minister of Japan to Sri Lanka just three weeks ago, the participation at the festival was much larger than that of previous years. The Sri Lanka Festival, which is held in the month of September of every year, has now become a momentous and landmark event in the calendar of the city of Tokyo.