High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

Continuing his efforts to enhance dialogue with Heads of Mission of Islamic countries concurrently accredited to Sri Lanka from New Delhi, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Milinda Moragoda today (01) presented copies of the Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran to the Ambassador of Morocco to India Mohamed Maliki.

The impressive Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran, published by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) of Sri Lanka, was presented to the Moroccan Ambassador at the High Commission of Sri Lanka. 

Ambassador Maliki highly appreciated this gesture of goodwill and stated that a copy of the Sinhala translation will be sent to Morocco to be kept in the Quran collection of the University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Fez, one of the leading spiritual and educational centres of the Islamic Golden Age and the oldest continuously operating, degree-granting university in the world.

The High Commission is planning to present copies of this Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran to other Heads of Mission of Islamic countries who are accredited to Colombo from New Delhi as well. Previously, the High Commission had presented copies of the Sinhala Quran to the Jama Masjid of Delhi and the Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (Council of Muslim Theologians of India).

In keeping with the "Integrated Country Strategy for Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions in India", the policy roadmap of High Commissioner Moragoda, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi has been promoting dialogue with all major religions in India.

Sri Lanka's High Commissioner to India, Milinda Moragoda met with the External Affairs Minister of India Dr. S. Jaishankar today (31) at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi to review the current status of the relations between Sri Lanka and India.

The External Affairs Minister of India and the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka also discussed the way forward and follow-up action, emanating from Dr. Jaishankar’s recent bilateral visit to Sri Lanka.  

On 20 January, Dr. Jaishankar concluded an official visit to Sri Lanka. During the visit, he had called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and had official discussions with Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry.

Joint Secretary, Indian Ocean Region of the Ministry of External Affairs Puneet Agrawal and Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka Niluka Kadurugamuwa also participated in the meeting.

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda met with the Indian Chief of Defence Staff, General Anil Chauhan, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM today (27) at the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi.

The cordial discussions were centred on the existing defence cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries and shared security interests in the region. High Commissioner Moragoda conveyed his appreciation, especially to the Indian armed forces for providing world-class professional training for the armed forces personnel of Sri Lanka over the years. The High Commissioner also discussed with the Chief of Defence Staff the ways and means by which the existing defence cooperation could be further expanded. 

General Anil Chauhan, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM, an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla, India was commissioned into the Sixth Battalion, the Eleventh Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981 from the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, India.

The General Officer has operational experience encompassing a wide range of conflict and terrain profiles, all across the country. He was the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command and was later appointed as the Military Advisor to the National Security Council Secretariat of India. General Chauhan’s operational tenures have been interspersed with prestigious Professional Military Education courses and Staff & Instructional assignments. 

High Commissioner Moragoda was accompanied to the meeting by Minister Counsellor (Defence) of the High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi Commodore Rohan Joseph.