High Commission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka in the United Kingdom

HE Rohitha Bogollagama, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom made the following statement to the Advisory Council of Sri Lanka’s Interests (ACSLI) of the High Commission on the travel advisories on Sri Lanka on 25 October 2024.

“Today I thought of having the first Advisory Council Meeting under the new administration of His Excellency Anura Kumara Dissanayake, President of Sri Lanka. One of the items I thought of reflecting at the meeting is the issuance of Travel Advisories on Sri Lanka by six countries i.e. US, UK, Russia, Australia, Isreal, New Zealand. In terms of the substance, relevance and the nature of the Advisories, we find that these advisories are limited, in the wider interest of Israelis, and authored by the US and echoed by key countries such as UK, Australia and New Zealand. The substance direct more on the Israeli line, the Israeli interests and the visitors and that of the locations which the Israeli reside. Unfortunately, these advisories have received wide publication and publicity as these have been broadcasted on US media.

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Sri Lanka participated at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2024 held in Apia, Samoa from 24- 26 October 2024. The theme of the CHOGM 2024 was “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth”. The Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 independent states, is one of the world’s oldest political association of states that work together towards the shared goals of peace, democracy and prosperity.  The organization is home to approximately 2.7 billion people, and includes both advanced economies and developing countries.

During the CHOGM 2024, the Leaders’ Statement, the Samoa CHOGM 2024 Communiqué and the Apia Commonwealth Ocean Declaration were adopted. The leaders also selected Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Ghana, as the incoming Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.

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On 21.10.2024, High Commissioner Rohitha Bogollagama, together with the officials of the High Commission of Sri Lanka in United Kingdom, visited Fortnum & Mason (F&M) Head Office in London and met with Mr. Tom Athron, the CEO and Ms. Ottilie Cunningham, Tea & Coffee Buyer of F&M who recently visited Sri Lanka to source high quality Ceylon Tea.

The objective of the meeting was to promote Sri Lanka’s main and high-quality processed food export products to F&M. High Commissioner Bogollagama introduced products with a presentation on the potential export brands of Sri Lanka and encouraged F&M to engage with Sri Lanka’s processed food export portfolio.

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H.E. Anura Kumar Dissanayaka was sworn in Yesterday (23 September 2024) as the 9^th Executive President of Sri Lanka at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo.

Addressing the nation and the International Community present at the Presidential Secretariat, H.E. the President emphasised the following:

“We need international support. Therefore, we expect to work together with other nations in a way that is more beneficial to our country, despite the divisions of power. We must not be left alone from the world, but be a country that should move forward, combined with the other countries in the world. We will not hesitate to take decisions required for that purpose.”

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I extend warm congratulations to the Sri Lanka cricket team led by Mr. Dhananjaya de Silva on the remarkable victory against England at the Third and final test match at The Oval.

The consistent performances by Pathum Nissanka throughout the series, and bowling by Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando stand out as Sri Lankan lions reached this significant milestone.
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Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane led the Sri Lanka Delegation to the Commonwealth Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) and the Committee of the Whole (COW) held in London, United Kingdom from 03-06 September 2024.

The discussions at the meetings focused on the arrangements for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to be held in October in Samoa and its outcome documents. » Read more

High Commissioner H.E. Rohitha Bogollagama met with Kerry McCarthy MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Climate) on 02 September 2024 at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, United Kingdom. » Read more

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Rohitha Bogollagama, attended the opening day of the England vs. Sri Lanka Test Match at Lord’s Cricket Ground on 29 August 2024. During the event, High Commissioner Bogollagama met the Rt. Hon. Rishi Sunak, former British Prime Minister, and Richard Gould, President of the English Cricket Board. » Read more

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the United Kingdom H.E. Rohitha Bogollagama hosted a special reception at Sri Lanka House in London on 27 August 2024 in honour of the Sri Lanka National Cricket Team, who are currently touring the United Kingdom for a Test match series to take place from 21 August to 10 September 2024. This is Sri Lanka’s first Test tour to England since 2016. » Read more