Monday Nov 18, 2024
Monday Nov 18, 2024
Wednesday, 2 October 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
A program to mark 60 years of diplomatic relationship was officially launched yesterday in Colombo at the residence of the German Ambassador for Sri Lanka.
Addressing a small gathering which included representatives of German business corporations such as Senok, Allianz Insurance, DIMO and IWS Holdings, Ambassador Dr. Juergen Mohard said the theme for the celebration of 60 years of relationship was on building relationship between the people of the two nations.
“Germany’s relationship with Sri Lanka goes beyond 60 years, and within that time we have managed to established strong links between our Governments and business corporations. To take this further, we must strengthen the relationship between our people as well. Ambassadors will come and go, business will come and go, but the people are here to stay. For this we have selected the people of our two countries as the focus of the celebration,” he said.
While a series of events are scheduled to take place over the year to acknowledge the six decades of the relationship, Dr. Mohard said the Embassy aims at bringing together Germany’s key stakeholders in business and civil society in Sri Lanka.
“These events serve in particular to showcase the presence of Germany in Sri Lanka. We want the people of Sri Lanka to meet the private, governmental and business organisations established here. There already are strong bonds of friendship and cooperation between individuals and organisations of our country and with this joint celebration, they will be further strengthened,” he said confidently.
With eight events planned, the celebration of this milestone will kick off with the Sri Lanka-German Street Festival which will be held on 6 
October at Green Path in Colombo. The festival is certain to attract large crowds as it has in store a number of exciting activities.
The event will open with a parade of vintage cars featuring top German brand ‘zone’. While the parade will be the key highlight, there will be performances by German brass band ‘Talking Horns,’ football, puppet theatre, fashion show and street theatre. There also will be an interactive display of German partner organisations in Sri Lanka.
Another key event that will take place to mark the 60 years will be the anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations which will be held on 9 December 2013. The event will be coupled with a classical concert by the Chamber Music Society of Colombo, which will feature German soloist Sebastian Leibing.
As Sri Lanka is gearing up for the celebrations, Germany is a step ahead since a number of activates have been taking place in the country to acknowledge the relationship between the two countries.
Ambassador for Sri Lanka in Germany Sarath Kongahage organised a photographic exhibition titled ‘Landscapes of Sri Lanka’. The exhibition was opened on 26 September by Minister of National Heritage Jagath Balasuriya at the Museum of Asian Arts Dahlem, Berlin. Ambassador Mohard shared that the exhibition would be presented at the National Museum in Colombo next year.
In addition to the 60 years of diplomatic relationship, the two countries have managed to achieve a bilateral trade volume of US$ 900 million per year. The German FDI since 2005 in Sri Lanka has reached US$ 61 million, whereas German loans and grants to Sri Lanka since 1966 is US$ 1.2 billion.
To date over 11,000 jobs have been created in Sri Lanka by German companies. In addition to the 52 German BOI companies in Sri Lanka, there are around 480 public private initiatives established. Ambassador Mohard noted that Sri Lanka is one of the few countries that enjoys a trade surplus with Germany.
