February 2012 – Udayanga Weeratunga

Friday February 24th, 2012in Meeting 0 Comments 0 Likes

Meeting Dep. Foreign Minister

Meeting the Newly Appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hon. Igor Morgulov
24th February 2012

On 24th February H.E the Ambassador paid a courtesy call to the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Hon. Igor Morgulov. Deputy Minister and the Ambassador had extended discussions about current political and economic situation of Sri Lanka and long standing diplomatic relations between two nations.
Hon. Igor Morgulov is a graduate of the Institute of Asian and African Studies of Moscow State University In 1983 and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991. He has held various diplomatic appointments in the Ministry’s central apparatus and abroad (China, USA, Japan). Hon. Morgulov was appointed as the Director of the First Asia Department in 2009 and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation since December 2011.
Ambassador handed over the congratulatory notes addressed to the Hon. Sergey Lavrov from the Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka Hon. G.L. Peiris on the occasion of the 55th anniversary since establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Russia. Further an appreciation note for the continuous support from the Russian Federation in defeating terrorism and concluding the humanitarian operations was also handed over.

The Deputy Minister and Ambassador had friendly discussions on an array of subjects such as: Agreements, Air Services, Tourism, Tea, Education and Culture. Ambassador mentioned about the upcoming UN HRC resolution against Sri Lanka and expectations of the support from the Russian Federation in defeating the resolution. The Deputy Director of the second Asia Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Oleg Audeev, Mr. Andrey Atmanov participated the meeting. Head of Chancery, Mr. Lal Kumara Gamage and Second Secretary, Mr. Nuwan Ratnayake accompanied the Ambassador to the occasion.

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Wednesday February 22nd, 2012in Workshop 0 Comments 0 Likes

Tourism Workshops with Intaer

Seminar on Sri Lanka Tourism
22nd of February 2012

A seminar on “Sri Lanka Tourism” for tour agents was held on 22nd of February 2012 at the residence of H.E. the Ambassador in collaboration with Intaer Tour operator. 47 tour agents took part at the event.
The Ambassador of Sri Lanka H.E. Udayanga Weeratunga delivered an informative presentation on developments of Sri Lanka Tourism industry, current developments on infrastructure, briefing on Sri Lanka, main itineraries, heritage, cuisine, and visa formalities etc. All participants were made well aware on Sri Lanka as a tourist destination.

Followed by the Ambassador’s speech, the presentation on Sri Lankan Airlines flight operations to Moscow was done by Ms. Anna Korolkova, Director General of Sri Lankan Airlines office in Moscow.

The raffle draw was arranged by the sponsoring tour operator, Intaer Tour to select a winner to participate the familiarizing tour to Sri Lanka. Further the company presented fact and details about their company and recommended tourist destinations.

End of the seminar, participants enjoyed a Sri Lankan lunch and Ceylon tea. Participants received gift packs with Ceylon tea, Audio Guide CD, tourism posters and other tourism promotional materials from the Ambassador.

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Tuesday February 14th, 2012in Receptions 0 Comments 0 Likes

Reception PRODEXPO 2012

Official reception to mark Sri Lanka’s participation at PRODEXPO 2012
14th February 2012

A reception was hosted by Ambassador Udayanga Weeratunga on 14 February 2012 to mark Sri Lanka’s participation in the PRODEXPO 2012 trade exhibition at the residence of the Ambassador. The event was attended by 100 distinguished guests both from the tea industry of Russia and Sri Lanka as well as from the Russia’s diplomatic community.

In the Ambassador’s address, he highlighted that the Ceylon tea industry had a 32.7% market share in Russia out of which 15.8% was the import of pre-packed teas. He went on to explain that major tea brands in Russia such as Akbar, Lipton, Orimi Trade (Princess Noori, Gita, Yava), Ahmad Tea and the brands of May Company were the major players with 75% of total market share and that Ceylon Tea promotion in Russia and the CIS countries were paramount to maintain market positions amidst competition from other producing nations.
Following the sumptuous buffet dinner, the Ambassador invited his guests to enjoy a cup of freshly brewed Ceylon Tea.

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Monday February 13th, 2012in Exhibition 0 Comments 0 Likes

PRODEXPO 2012

“PRODEXPO – 2012″ Trade Fair in Moscow
13th to 17th February 2012
Sri Lanka Tea Board represented by the Tea Promotion Unit at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Moscow, participated in the 19th annual “PRODEXPO 2012”. It was held at the Expocentr fairgrounds in Moscow, from 13 to 17 February 2012. The exhibition is held under the patronage of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Agriculture and the Moscow Government and organized by Expocentr. The event was graced by Ambassador Udayanga Weeratunga who declared open the Sri Lanka stand.

Together with Sri Lanka Tea Board, 04 leading Sri Lankan tea exporting companies also participated, namely Ceylon Tea Bags (Pvt) Ltd, Ceylon Tea Land (Pvt) Ltd, Nature’s Pride (Pvt) Ltd and Mabroc Teas (Pvt) Ltd. Additionally, 05 leading Sri Lankan exporters such as Millenium Teas (Pvt) Ltd, Finlay Tea Solutions (Pvt) Ltd, Jafferjee Brothers, Imperial Tea Exports (Pvt) Ltd and Ceylon Fresh teas (Pvt) Ltd also brought strength to the Sri Lanka representation in the exhibition. Leading tea exporter Akbar Brothers were represented by their partner Sapsan Group of Companies. Orimi Trade who is a key Russian buyer was also present. The Tea Board of India and tea distributors representing teas from China, Ukraine etc were present. It was a successful event for the Sri Lankan exhibitors who received several trade inquiries and potential business partnerships.
The Tea Promotion Unit held a public tea service throughout the period which was well attended by both public and participants.

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Monday February 6th, 2012in Receptions 0 Comments 0 Likes

64th Independence Day Reception

64th Independence Day Reception
6th February 2012
The Embassy organized a Reception to celebrate the 64th Independence Day on 6th February. The event was attended by the Ambassadors and the other Diplomatic community representing the Embassies based in Moscow, the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Sri Lankan community based in Russia among others. H.E. Zamir Kabulov, Director, Second Asia Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia participated as the chief guest.
H.E. Udayanga Weeratunga made use of the welcome speech to brief the guests on the present situation of Sri Lanka. During the speech the progress achieved by Sri Lanka since concluding the fight against the LTTE terrorists in 2009 was highlighted with emphasis on the economic and social development in the former conflict affected areas.
Ambassador Weeratunga also appreciated the strong relations between Sri Lanka and Russia since establishment of diplomatic relations in 1957 and mentioned the recent progress of the relations. He took the opportunity to extend congratulations to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation on the 55th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Speaking at the occasion, H.E. Zamir Kabulov congratulated Sri Lanka on the occasion of the 64th Anniversary of Independence and on the 55th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Russia. He spoke of the historically strong and friendly bilateral relations between the two countries and expressed Russia’s strong interest to work together with Sri Lanka in the future.

At the end of the Reception the guests were treated to a traditional Sri Lankan dinner. A special event of the Reception which in particular captured the attention of the audience were performance of traditional dancing and Sri Lankan songs sung by a group of Sri Lankan students from the Kursk State Medical University.

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Saturday February 4th, 2012in Celebration 0 Comments 0 Likes

64th Independence Day

64th Independence Day Celebration
04th February 2012
The Official ceremony of the 64th Independence Day of Sri Lanka took place at the Embassy premises on 4th February 2012. Commencing the event H.E. Udayanga Weeratunga hoisted the National Flag of Sri Lanka and National Anthem was sung by Participants of the event. In honor of the war heroes who sacrificed their lives and limbs to protect and safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the motherland a two minutes silence was observed.
Buddhist priests residing in Moscow conducted the Buddhist religious ceremonies and blessed Sri Lanka and the Embassy on the occasion. The Independence Day messages of H.E. the President, Hon. Prime Minister and Hon. Minister of External Affairs of Sri Lanka were read out by H.E the Ambassador, Mr. Lal Kumara Gamage and Ms. Shashika Somaratne respectively.
Speaking on the occasion H.E. the Ambassador mentioned the significance of the event and highlighted the key aspects of the message of H.E. the President. He urged the Embassy to work together for the prosperity of Sri Lanka in line with the government policy set out in Mahinda Chintana.

The celebration concluded with a special meal which had been organized by Mrs. Uma Weeratunga and the staff of the Embassy. The participants of the event were treated to a traditional Sri Lankan meal of Milk Rice, Kokis, Weli Thalapa etc.