New Ambassadors call on Foreign Minister

Newly appointed Ambassadors of Viet Nam and Myanmar to Sri Lanka called on Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Foreign Ministry, last week.

Ambassador of Viet Nam to Sri Lanka Ho Thi Thanh Truc called on the Foreign Minister on 15 July, 2021.

Welcoming the Viet Nam Ambassador, Minister Gunawardena thanked the continuous support extended to Sri Lanka by Viet Nam in all multilateral fora. The Minister Gunawardena took note of projects that contribute to further strengthening of Sri Lanka – Viet Nam bilateral relations, in particular, areas of agriculture, fisheries and defence.  Minister Gunawardena further said that both countries have much potential to enhance and promote collaboration, through the available mechanism, in the latter- mentioned areas, including politics, economy, investment, trade, science-technology, culture and education.

Ambassador Truc, taking note of the important milestone of the 51st Sri Lanka - Viet Nam relations this year took note of the importance of rejuvenating the political relations through the established parliamentary friendship group.  Foreign Minister Gunawardena emphasized the strong bonds of friendship that exist between the two countries.  Foreign Minister Gunawardena, making a special reference to the support that Sri Lanka has extended to Viet Nam in the post-independence era that based on the fundamentals of the non-aligned principals expressed that he hopes to build excellent cooperation between the two countries in potential areas.

Ambassador of Myanmar to Sri Lanka U Han Thu called on the Foreign Minister on 16 July.

Welcoming the Myanmar Ambassador, Foreign Minister Gunawardena emphasized on the longstanding Sri Lanka Myanmar fraternal bilateral ties and shared history based on Buddhist links over centuries. He reiterated the establishment of the Amarapura and Ramanna Nikaya in Sri Lanka in 1803 and 1865 respectively are the testimonies of the bilateral relations between the two countries. Ambassador Thu endorsing the comments stated that more than 400 Buddhist priest from Myanmar are currently studying in Sri Lanka.

Both dignitaries agreed that political relations between the two countries have been fruitful over the years through various mechanisms and in particular underscored the importance of rejuvenating the Sri Lanka Myanmar parliamentary Friendship Group.

The Foreign Minister thanked the Myanmar Government for the annual offers of the Honorary Title ‘Aggamaha Panditha’ to erudite Sri Lankan Priests which is a symbol of the friendly ties based on Theravada Buddhism.