High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Austin Fernando presented Credentials to the President of the Republic of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind on 13th November 2018, Tuesday at the Rashtrapathy Bhavan in New Delhi.

Austin Fernando, joined Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) in 1963, and was the senior-most civil servant in Sri Lanka.  During his illustrious career in the public and private sectors which span over 50 years, he has held many key positions including, as Government Agent for Polonnaruwa and Nuwara Eliya Districts, Commissioner of Cooperative Development, Post Master General, Secretary to the Ministry of Rehabilitation and Ministry of Public Administration, Secretary to Home Affairs and Secretary to the Ministry of Provincial Councils and Indigenous Medicine and Secretary to the Ministry of Defence.  His private sector career included an eleven year stint in Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). He was appointed as the Governor of the Eastern Province in 2015 by the President of Sri Lanka.  He has also held many consultative positions at the United Nations and similar institutions at various points of his career.  Immediately prior to his current assignment as the High Commissioner to India, he was the Secretary to the President of Sri Lanka.

High Commissioner Austin Fernando is married with three children. He is an alumni of the University of Peradeniya and the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka. 

High Commission of Sri Lanka

New Delhi

Foreign Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama briefed foreign diplomats based in Colombo at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this morning (12). 
The Minister clarified the chain of events that compelled President Maithripala Sirisena to arrive at the decision to dissolve Parliament. He emphasized the constitutionality of the steps taken by President Sirisena and added that having being elected through a nation-wide vote, the President derives his authority directly from the people of Sri Lanka. The Minister said in the event of a conflict between the organs of government, seeking a mandate from people who are sovereign ensures that democracy prevails. 
Minister Amunugama also made special note of the peaceful atmosphere that continues to prevail in Sri Lanka, in the midst of internal political changes. This is to the credit of the people of Sri Lanka and re-affirms the democratic traditions of the country. 
Through the measures adopted, the Minister added, the Executive has discharged his responsibility of ensuring the security and safety of all Sri Lankans, which may have been compromised by the growing tension and the departure from parliamentary traditions. 
Several country representatives present at the briefing expressed their confidence in the strength of Sri Lanka’s long standing democratic traditions in resolving this internal matter. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

Colombo

12 November 2018

Best Wishes!

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Dr Sarath Amunugama, stated that there have been no incidents of violence or disruption in the country following the recent developments and hence there was no justification for the Travel Advisories issued by a few countries. He has further noted that the peaceful environment continues to prevail in the country and tourists are enjoying uninterrupted access to tourist sites and facilities throughout the Island.

Media Release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in regard to this is given below; 

Media Release

Foreign Minister Amunugama says "no justification for thechanging Travel Advisories" 

Foreign Minister Dr. Sarath Amunugama, said that there was no justification for the Travel Advisories issued by a few countries, since there have been no incidents of violence or disruption in the country following the recent events. The Tourism sector has not been subject to any inconvenience.

The Minister made these observations when he met with the leading inbound tour operators, Senior Officials of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), representatives of the Sri Lankan Airlines and other leading foreign carriers to discuss the Travel Advisories issued recently. He said that the Government was fully committed to safeguarding and improving of the tourism industry.

Industry leaders   briefed the   Minister that in addition to regular flights,  TUI , one  of  the   world’s   leading  tour  operators, is  now scheduled to operate  03  Charter Flights to  Colombo  on   a weekly  basis  while  the TUI   Cruise Liner  is  also scheduled  to  use Sri Lanka as a Port of Call in   the  high  season. The  industry  leaders also  informed  that   Aeroflot has  announced nonstop direct  flights  from  Moscow to Colombo  from  28 October 2018  and  SWISS will  resume  its  direct  flights  Zurich – Colombo from 04 November 2018. Meanwhile   Lonely  Planet, one  of the   leading international travel  guide   publishers,  has   recently   named  Sri  Lanka  as   the world’s top  destination. It was noted that presently there are around 4000 cricket fans from the UK in   Sri Lanka to follow the English cricket team’s current tour. This was testimony to the peaceful environment prevailing in the country and tourists are enjoying uninterrupted access to tourist sites and facilities throughout the Island.

The Minister also informed that since the assumption of his present portfolio he has instructed all Heads of Sri Lanka Missions overseas to personally make representation to the authorities concerned in their countries of accreditation in order to remove the Travel Advisories, to be in keeping with the ground realities in Sri Lanka. They will also maintain  regular interaction with the leading Travel Agents/ Outbound Tour Operators  in their  respective capitals to brief them on the peaceful situation prevailing in the island with a view to promoting arrivals. The Minister said that he planned to make Tourism Promotion a main aspect of the Foreign Ministry’s work programme.

Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha and Senior Officials of the Ministry were present at the meeting. 

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo 

02 November 2018