Sri Lanka Ambassador- designate to People’s Republic of China formally assumes duties

Ambassador- designate of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the People’s Republic of China, Dr. Palitha Kohona, formally assumed duties on Wednesday at the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Beijing, the embassy said. 

Prior to the assumption of duties by Dr. Kohona, a Pirith chanting ceremony was conducted by the Most Venerable Zong XingThero, Vice President of the Buddhist Association of China along with four other venerable monks from the Guangji temple in Beijing.  The formal hoisting of the national flag and the lighting of the traditional oil lamp occurred immediately after this. 

Addressing the Embassy Staff, including locally engaged staff, Dr. Kohona emphasized the need for all to engage proactively with the local authorities, as well as the Chinese community.  It was important to develop links with the business community also. 

“Our objective should be to further enhance the image of Sri Lanka in China, strengthen the Sri Lanka- China bilateral relationship, and promote Sri Lanka as a welcome destination for foreign direct investments, and also encourage bilateral trade links.” Dr Kohona stressed. 

Dr. Palitha Kohona, was the former Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations (UN) from 2009 to 2015. Until August 2009, he was the Permanent Secretary to the Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka and was also the former Secretary General of the Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process. He was, previously, the Head of the UN Treaty Section in New York till 2006, the largest arm of the UN office of Legal Affairs.

Ambassador Dr. Kohona received his secondary education in Sri Lanka at St. Thomas College, Mount Lavinia. He obtained a LLB (Hons.) at the University of Sri Lanka, a LLM from the Australian National University in International Trade Law and a Doctorate from Cambridge University in the UK. 

Dr. Kohona arrived in China on December 15 and assumed duties virtually and underwent a 14 days mandatory quarantine.