Sunday Times 2
Ambassador Saroja Sirisena presents credentials to Austria’s President
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Saroja Sirisena presented Letters of Credence to Austria’s President Alexander Van der Bellen on July 10 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, accrediting her as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka to Austria.
Ambassador Sirisena conveyed greetings of President Maithripala Sirisena to President Van der Bellen recalling the former’s visit to Austria in 2016. President Van de Bellen reciprocated his greetings to the President of Sri Lanka and recalled his visit to Sri Lanka as a tourist. He commended Sri Lanka’s position as a global destination for tourists including amongst Austrians.
The discussions also focused on enhancing Austro-Lanka bilateral relations and global efforts aimed at enhancing security and strengthening legal frameworks to fight terrorism.
Ms. Sirisena joined Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1998 and served as Director General Economic Affairs, Director General Public Diplomacy and the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately prior to her appointment in Vienna.
In her diplomatic career, she served as the Consul General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai from 2014-2018 and held positions at Sri Lanka’s Missions in Geneva, Brussels and Paris.
Ambassador Sirisena is a graduate of the University of Melbourne and has completed post graduate studies at the École nationale d’administration in France. She is a past pupil of Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo.