Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Latvia presents credentials

Friday, 14 February 2025 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Latvia, Kapila Fonseka presented credentials to the President of the Republic of Latvia, Edgars Rinkevics at the Presidential Palace in Latvia’s capital Riga last week. Presenting the credentials, the Ambassador conveyed greetings of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and expressed his commitment to enhance bilateral relations with Latvia. President Rinkevics, while warmly welcoming the new Ambassador, appreciated the warm and cordial relations existing between the two countries that mark the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations in 2026.

Ambassador Fonseka was warmly welcomed by the Government of the Republic of Latvia in his visit to Riga where he met with a number of Latvian dignitaries and officials including Foreign Minister Baiba Braze; Minister of Culture, Agnese Lace; officials of the Latvian Foreign Ministry including the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Andsejs Vilumsons; Deputy State Secretary for Economic Relations, Ivita Burmistre and Head of the Directorate for Bilateral Relations, Katarina Platere. During these meetings the Ambassador discussed a range of subjects, particularly following up on the first bilateral consultations between Sri Lanka and Latvia held in Colombo last year. The areas covered included the fast growing tourist arrivals from Latvia to Sri Lanka that has seen over 120% year on year growth in 2024, trade relations, bilateral agreements as well as the Sri Lankan students in Latvia. Both parties agreed to closely cooperate in enhancing these relations and to hold the second round of bilateral consultations early.

During his visit, the Ambassador also visited the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and met with President Aigars Rostovskis and Director of the Chamber’s Foreign Affairs Department, Katrina Zarina. The discussions centred on the possibilities of enhancing trade and commerce relations between Sri Lanka and Latvia including establishing chamber to chamber agreements.

Ambassador Fonseka was also welcomed to the Latvian Parliament where he was received by Deputy Secretary of the Latvian Parliament Janis Grasbergs.

During his visit to Riga, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka visited some Latvian travel agencies to explore the possibilities of furthering tourist arrivals from Latvia to Sri Lanka. He also met some Sri Lankan students studying in Latvian universities.

Honorary Consul of Sri Lanka in Riga, Arnis Anchupans accompanied the Ambassador during his visit to Riga.

Sri Lanka and Latvia established bilateral relations in 1996 and the first bilateral political consultations were held in Colombo in 2024. Latvia, as a European Union member and OECD country, is an important bilateral as well as multilateral partner for Sri Lanka. The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Stockholm is concurrently accredited to the Republic of Latvia with Ambassador Kapila Fonseka as the non-resident Ambassador.

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