High Commission of Sri Lanka in India

Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India Milinda Moragoda who is on an official visit to the State of Maharashtra met with the President of the Mumbai centre of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Shri Brajhari Das today (30) at the Society’s centre in Juhu. Today also marks the Ram Navami, a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Lord Rama.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness, otherwise known as the Hare Krishna movement, includes five hundred major centers, temples and rural communities, nearly one hundred affiliated vegetarian restaurants, thousands of local meeting groups, a wide variety of community projects, and millions of congregational members worldwide. 

ISKCON, which belongs to the Gaudiya-Vaishnava sampradāya, a monotheistic tradition within the Vedic or Hindu culture, was founded by Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda in New York City in 1966.

Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Mumbai Dr. Valsan Vethody also joined High Commissioner Moragoda in the meeting. 

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

Continuing his engagement with key officials of the Indian Government, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India Milinda Moragoda met with the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Shri Shaktikanta Das today (29) at the Bank’s Headquarters in Mumbai. The Sri Lankan High Commissioner is on an official visit to the State of Maharashtra. 

The meeting between the RBI Governor and the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka was held in a very cordial manner, and a range of issues pertaining to the bilateral economic cooperation was discussed. High Commissioner Moragoda thanked Governor Das for the support that India has been extending to Sri Lanka in the context of economic stabilization, particularly the currency swap arrangements and deferment of payments that materialized with the direct involvement of the Reserve Bank of India. He also thanked India for the leadership it took towards the realization of the International Monetary Fund’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Sri Lanka.  

The RBI Governor and the High Commissioner discussed economic recovery in Sri Lanka, and the pivotal role that India could play in it through greater integration of the economies in areas such as power, energy, ports, infrastructure, tourism, IT services,

High Commissioner Moragoda presented a copy of his policy roadmap the " Integrated Country Strategy for Sri Lanka Diplomatic Missions in India 2021/2023" to Governor Das. The High Commissioner was accompanied to the meeting by Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Mumbai Dr. Valsan Vethody. 

A former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Shaktikanta Das has been serving as the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India since December 2018. He was earlier a member of the Fifteenth Finance Commission and India's Sherpa to the G20. During his career as an IAS officer, Das served in various capacities for the Indian Government, including as Economic Affairs Secretary, Revenue Secretary and Fertilizers Secretary. He has also served as India’s Alternate Governor in the World Bank, ADB, NDB and AIIB.

During the past couple of months, High Commissioner Moragoda met with several other key officials of the Government of India, including Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra, Finance Secretary T.V. Somanathan, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, Chairman of the NITI Aayog Parameswaran Iyer and Director General of the National Centre for Good Governance Bharat Lal.

Continuing his efforts to promote 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 yesterday (21) presented a copy of the Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran to the Ambassador of Bahrain to India Abdul Rahman bin Mohammed AlGaoud. 

This Sinhala translation of the Holy Quran, published by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama (ACJU) of Sri Lanka, was presented to the Bahraini Ambassador at the Embassy of Bahrain in New Delhi. 

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.