New Sri Lankan envoy to Sweden presents credentials

The newly-appointed Sri Lankan envoy to Sweden, Renuka Damayanthie Rajapakse, presented the Letter of Credence to Carl XVI Gustaf, the King of Sweden, at the Royal Palace in Stockholm on 3 September.

Ambassador Rajapakse was accompanied by Ambassador Birgitta Alani, Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps to the Foreign Ministry and thereafter escorted to the Royal Palace in a ceremonial procession by a Royal horse-drawn carriage, where she was welcomed by a Guard of Honour. Following the official ceremony, the credentials were presented to the King and thereafter the King held a one-to-one meeting with the Ambassador.

Ambassador Rajapakse discussed the relations that existed between the two countries since establishment of diplomatic relations on 18 November 1949, and noted development assistance received by Sri Lanka from Sweden for a number of years. The Ambassador took the opportunity to highlight that many Swedish companies had begun to invest in Sri Lanka and gave an overview of recent the developments in Sri Lanka.

The King acknowledged that they had been following the development and extended his best wishes for the future prosperity of the country and noted that Sri Lanka was among one of the favourite tourist destinations for Swedish nationals in the past and was pleased that Sri Lanka was once again attracting many Swedish tourists as a travel destination. He also recalled fondly his visit to Sri Lanka in 1966 as an officer Cadet of the Swedish Royal Navy.

The Ambassador referred to with gratitude the visit of Royal Crown Princess Victoria to Sri Lanka in the aftermath of Tsunami in 2004. At the end of the audience with the King, the Ambassador introduced members of the staff of the Mission.

Following the presentation of credentials, a multi-religious function and an alms giving to the Maha Sangha was held at the Embassy premises The Chief Incumbent of the Stockholm Buddhist Vihara, Ven. Kirindigalle Dhammarathana Nayaka Thero; Chief Incumbent of the Tapovana, Ven. Watapana Pannaratana Thero; Ven. Borelesgamuwe Satimanta Thero of the Helsingborg Buddhist Vihara; the Sri Lankan Priest Rev. Father Michael Bjerkhagen, Vicar of the Swedish Royal Court and Kurukkal Mohan Aiyar of the Stockholm Ganesh Temple conducted the religious proceedings.

Sri Lanka’s newly appointed envoy to Sweden is a graduate of the University of Peradeniya of Sri Lanka and joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1994. She had served in several Sri Lanka Missions abroad and was the Director-General of the SAARC Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka prior to assuming duties as the Ambassador.