Fourteen Diplomats to be appointed as Heads of Sri Lanka Missions overseas

The appointments of 14 career diplomats nominated by President Maithripala as Heads of Sri Lanka Missions overseas, have been approved by the Parliament Committee on High Posts.

The fourteen senior officers, belonging to the Grade I of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service  (SLFS) who are to be appointed as Heads of Mission are as follows:

• K.D. Seneviratne - Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York
• Rodney M. Perera - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United States of America
• Grace Asirwatham - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Belgium and the European Union
• A.S. Nakandala - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Netherlands and Permanent Representative to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
• Y.K. Gunasekara - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Indonesia
• J.A.S.K. Jayasuriya - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand
• Pradeepa Saram - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Bahrain
• Shobini Gunasekera - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Philippines
• Saroja Sirisena - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Austria and Permanent Representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
• O.L. Ameerajwad - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Oman
• M.J.P. Jayesinghe - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United Arab Emirates
• Waruna Wilpatha - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Israel
• Sashikala Premawardhane - High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Singapore
• Rizvi Hassen - Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Turkey

Following these appointments, the percentage of career diplomats heading Sri Lanka Missions overseas has increased from 36.57 percent to 46 percent, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Sri Lanka has a total of 52 Embassies and High Commissions overseas.