March 2012 – Udayanga Weeratunga

Friday March 30th, 2012in Farewell 0 Comments 0 Likes

Farewell to Head of Chancery

Farewell to Head of Chancery Mr. Lal Kumara Gamage
30th March 2012

After a successful tenure Mr. Lal Kumara Gamage , returned to Sri Lanka and as a symbol of appreciation H.E the Ambassador hosted a farewell reception at his residence with the participation of the Embassy staff members. Mr. and Mrs. Gamage were warmly welcomed by the Ambassador and expressed his appreciation to all the efforts offered for the betterment of the Bilateral Diplomatic Relations as well as other functions of this Mission.
Defense Advisor, Group Captain A.P Payoe , Rohan Direckz and Irena Chernegova congratulated HOC and expressed their appreciation for the support Mr. Gamage extended in all activities and tasks. Mr. Lal Kumara Gamage briefly mentioned the times past in Russia at this Mission and thanked the past and present staff members, especially H.E. the Ambassador for the assistance and guidance extended to make the tenure in Russia a successful one.
Mr. Lal Kumara Gamage and Mrs. Dayasri Gamage were presented souvenirs by the Ambassador.

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Wednesday March 28th, 2012in Exhibition 0 Comments 0 Likes

UITT 2012

International Travel & Tourism Fair “UITT 2012″ in Kiev
28th -30th March, 2012
The Embassy of Sri Lankan in Moscow took part at the UITT 2012 (Ukrainian International Travel and Tourism) Exhibition in Kiev, Ukraine on 28-30 March, 2012. That was the second spring time the Embassy gathered together Inbound Travel Companies of Sri Lanka to Ukraine.
Sri Lanka increased the space allocation this year to give an opportunity for 13 Travel companies from Sri Lanka to be represented on the UITT 2012 (Jetwing Travels, Exotic Global Holidays, Connaissance de Ceylan, Calista Travel, Mount Lavinia/Club Bentota Hotels, Tangerine Tours, Aitken Spence Travels, Brown Tours, Delux Holidays, Walkers Tours, Ceylon Tours, Concord Exotic Voyages, World Travel Centre).
H.E. the Ambassador Udayanga Weeratunga visited the Fair and the Stand of Sri Lanka and presented the new Tourism Catalog about Sri Lanka in the Russian language for the Ukrainian visitors.

Every year it is UITT that kicks off the tourist season in both Ukraine and further afield. “Whole World, One Exhibition” — was the slogan chosen for Ukraine’s main tourism event of 2012. This year was the 18th time for the UITT Travel Fare in Ukraine and visitors of the exhibition were able to choose from over 50 tourist destinations around the world. UITT provided an opportunity to find out more about the most charming places in Ukraine and the world, discover interesting destinations, and share impressions, ideas and experiences. The Parliament of Ukraine annually supports the Ukraine International Tourism Exhibition UITT, which for many years has contributed to progress in the tourism industry. Benefitting from strong recovery in Europe the Ukrainian Association of Tour Business announced that outbound traffic increased by 15%-20% in the year 2011. Thanks to International Travel and Tourism Fairs, such as the UITT, similar figures can be expected for 2012.

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Monday March 26th, 2012in Meeting 0 Comments 0 Likes

Air-Services Agreement

Signing of Air-Services Agreement
26th March 2012
Turning a new chapter in Sri Lanka Russia bilateral relations, a new Air Services Agreement between Sri Lanka and the Russian Federation was signed in Moscow on 26.03.2012. H.E. Udayanga Weeratunga, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in the Russian Federation signed the Agreement on behalf of the Government of Sri Lanka while Mr. Valery M. Okulov, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation signed on behalf of the Government of the Russian Federation. The new Air Services Agreement replaces the Air Transport Agreement between Ceylon and the U.S.S.R signed on 22 February1964.
During the discussion which preceded the signing ceremony Mr. Okulov commended the bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Russia and noted the commencement of direct flights of SriLankan Airlines and Aeroflot between Colombo and Moscow in 2011. He also noted the significance of the bilateral meetings between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and President Dmitry Medvedev as well as the meeting between Mr. Igor Levitin, Minister of Transport of Russia and Hon. Priyankara Jayaratne, Minister of Civil Aviation of Sri Lanka on 5th August 2011.
H.E. Udayanga Weeratunga thanked the Deputy Minister and the Russian Government for expediting the process of signing the new Air Services Agreement. He briefed the significance of the signing of the Agreement and also the present development progress of Sri Lanka tourism.

Tourism Industry is booming in Sri Lanka with over 60% increase in the arrival of Russian tourists alone in 2011. H.E. Weeratunga also explained the significance of the new Air Services Agreement in connection with the potential for expansion of economic relations between Sri Lanka and Russia. He also took the opportunity to thank the Russian Government for the support extended to Sri Lanka especially at the recently concluded UN Human Rights Council Session.

In addition H.E. Weeratunga mentioned the progress of the construction of the Second International Airport of Sri Lanka in Mattala and noted that it would be opened for international traffic in November 2012. He also noted the construction of internationally reputed hotels in Sri Lanka such as the two Shangri La Hotel projects in Colombo and Hambantota as well as the other infrastructure projects for development of Hotels in Sri Lanka.

In conclusion H.E. Weeratunga reminded of the invitation extended by the Minister of Civil Aviation of Sri Lanka for his counterpart to visit Sri Lanka and also invited Mr. Okulov to visit Sri Lanka for the opening of Mattala International Airport of Sri Lanka in November 2012.

The ceremony was attended by Ms. Marina V. Gribanova, Deputy Director, Department of International Cooperation of Ministry of Transport of Russia, Mr. Alexander M. Tumanov, Consultant, Department of State Policy of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Transport of Russia, Ms. Daria L. Orlova, General Expert, Department of International Cooperation and Mr. Andrey Atmanov, Second Asia Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia and the Diplomatic officials of Embassy of Sri Lanka in the Russian Federation.

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Thursday March 22nd, 2012in Receptions 0 Comments 0 Likes

Reception MITT 2012

Reception on occasion of «MITT 2012» at the Embassy of Sri Lanka
22nd March 2012

On 22nd March 2012, H.E. Udayanga Weeratunga, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Russia invited all Sri Lankan participants, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau officials and tour/travel operators in Russia to partake in special presentation and dinner at the Ambassador’s residence. More than 70 guests participated.
Ambassador opened the reception by lighting traditional oil lamp and delivered a speech, where he informed of the increased tourist arrivals from Russia and Ukraine to Sri Lanka. Number of tourists from Russia increased by 61,1% compared with 12,2% in 2010. From Ukraine, the visible growth of tourism is 117,4%. The year2012 has shown bright prospects for tourism in Sri Lanka. During the first two months almost 170,000 people visited the country. Among them – almost 6,000 tourists from Russia – which is 96% more than last year during these months.
H.E. Weeratunga mentioned about the construction of a second international airport in Mattala and some of the construction projects of new roads and hotels in Sri Lanka.

The Ambassador noted the special role of SriLankan Airlines in the development of tourism in Sri Lanka. SriLankan Airlines flights have become very popular among Russian tourists, and flights occupancy is over 90%. In this regard, SriLankan Airlines in the near future plans to increase the number of flights up to 3-4 per week.

The Ambassador also spoke about the successful implementation of electronic travel authorization to enter Sri Lanka (ETA) and about the activities of the Embassy to promote tourism. In 2011 the Embassy conducted several workshops for agencies, including agencies in the regions of Samara, Yekaterinburg, St. Petersburg and Novosibirsk. The Embassy also organized press tours for the Russian and Ukrainian journalists from various publications, including “ROSSIYA” TV and NTV – the largest and most popular TV channels in Russia.

Highlight of the reception was the presentation of new Tourism Catalog on Sri Lanka, which was prepared by the Ambassador himself, in conjunction with Mr. Rummy Jauffer, Managing Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Ms. Anna Korolkova, Director General of SriLankan Airlines in Russia and Mr. Nuwan Ratnayake, Second Secretary of the Embassy.

H.E. Mr. Weeratunga pointed out that this is not simply a Catalog – it can be considered a book, which combines all the information about Sri Lanka, its history, culture, religion, holidays and traditions, cuisine, nature and beaches. The Catalog also provides all necessary information about the largest and the best hotels of the country.

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Thursday March 22nd, 2012in Exhibition 0 Comments 0 Likes

MITT 2012

“MITT 2012″ Tourism & Travel Fair in Moscow
21st-24th March, 2012
19th International Travel & Tourism Fair “MITT 2012” was held on March 21-24, 2012 at the Expo Center in Moscow, Russia. Sri Lanka Embassy in Moscow organized the “Sri Lanka Stand” with support of Sri Lanka Tourism promotion Bureau.
14 companies, namely: Tangerine Tours, Exotic Global Holidays, Pigeon Island Beach Resort, Ceylon Tours Ltd, Mount Lavinia Hotel/Club Bentota, Maldiviana Sri Lanka Ltd, Connaissance de Ceylon (Pvt) Ltd, Aitken Spence Travels (Pvt) Ltd, Concord Exotic Voyages, Jetwing Travels & Hotels, Delux Holidays, Walkers Tours, Nkar Travels and Uga Resort took part at the Sri Lanka stand.
H.E. the Ambassador Udayanga Weeratunga opened the Sri Lanka stand by lighting the traditional oil lamp along with other participants. Delivering the speech at the opening ceremony, Ambassador Weeratunga highlighted the positive tendency of tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka and requested the support of all participants to continue attracting tourists to the country in accordance with the government target; 2.5 million tourists by 2016.

Also the Ambassador presented the new Sri Lanka Catalog on Tourism prepared by him personally and with the appreciative help of Mr. Rummy Jauffer, Managing Director of Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, Ms. Anna Korolkova, Director General of SriLankan Airlines in Russia and Mr. Nuwan Ratayake, 2nd Secretary of the Embassy.

SriLankan Airlines also participated in the Sri Lanka stand. This airline started its regular flights from Moscow to Colombo on September, 17, 2011. Every month up to 1000 passengers travel with SriLankan Airlines. Ms. Anna Korolkova informed “MITT 2012” visitors that due to the noticeable growth of the tourists, the company is going to increase weekly number of flights (Moscow – Colombo) from 2 to 3-4 the nearest future.

Ambassador Weeratunga invited all Sri Lankan participants, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau officials and tour/travel operators in Russia to participate at the 12th Kazakhstan International Tourism Fair which will be held on April 25-27, 2012 in Almaty.

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Monday March 5th, 2012in Farewell 0 Comments 0 Likes

Welcome & Farewell the Staff

Embassy welcomes the DCM, bids farewell to Ms. Gunasena
05th March 2012
H.E. the Ambassador and the staff warmly welcome the newly appointed Deputy Chief of Mission, Maj. General Nandana Udawatta and the Consular Officer Ms. Nayomi Serasinghe whilst bidding farewell to Ms. Ruwini Gunasena, who completed her assignment as the Consular Officer in the Sri Lanka Embassy in Russia.
Welcoming Maj. General Nandana Udawatta, H.E Weeratunga expressed his pleasure to have the Major General, who led the largest battalion of Sri Lanka Army to successfully ending the 30 year old civil war. Further H. E. the Ambassador appreciated Ms. Gunasena for her committed and diligent work and for the efficient and effective function carried out for the betterment of the mission’s procedures and operations; at the same time expressed his expectations of Ms. Serasinghe to fulfill the job functions assigned efficiently and effectively in the time to come.
The speech in return, Ms. Gunasena expressed her gratitude for support, assistance and warm welcome in Russia. Great appreciation was expressed to the Ambassador of Sri Lanka Udayanga Weeratunga and Madam Uma Weeratunga not only for support in her work but also for taking care of the family during their stay in Russia.

International Women’s Day was celebrated at the Embassy with the Staff. Ladies of the Embassy including Mrs. Uma Weeratunga and Ms. Sithara Weeratunga received gifts from H.E. the Ambassador. The staff enjoyed a special dinner arranged by Mrs. Weeraunga.