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Foreign Minister Ali Sabry assumes duties

Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Sabry assumed duties at the Ministry today (25 July, 2022) at a simple ceremony. Foreign Secretary Aruni Wijewardane and the senior officials were present.  Addressing the officials, Minister Ali Sabry stated that he looked forward to delivering on the mandate of the Ministry to steer forward Sri Lanka’s foreign relations, taking the domestic compulsions too into consideration. He commended the outgoing Minister Prof G L Peiris for his leadership provided to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Minister Sabry was appointed a Member of Parliament in 2020. Minister Ali Sabry served as the Minister of Justice since 12 August 2020, until he was appointed the Finance Minister on 4 April, 2022. As the Minister of Justice he launched many new initiatives including the wide-ranging reforms into the Sri Lankan justice sector with the justice sector reform programme to amend over hundred laws, some of which have not been changed in over a century. Minister Ali Sabry also initiated the digitization drive of the justice sector, the expansion of courthouses across the country and the introduction of specialized courthouses to address the issue of delays.

As the Finance Minister he led the Sri Lankan delegation for the recent negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington D.C. Prior to his entry into politics Minister Ali Sabry was a practicing lawyer with many of the cases he handled appearing in law reports and publications. He was appointed a President’s Counsel in 2012 and was awarded the Outstanding Young Person of The Year for Achievement in Law in 2009. He has also served as Sri Lanka’s Consul General in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1997.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Colombo

25 July, 2022

Full Media Release 

Registration of Sri Lankan Students in India

The High Commission of Sri Lanka in New Delhi together with the Deputy High Commission of Sri Lanka in Chennai and the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai intend to collect information pertaining to Sri Lankan students who are currently studying in India in order to update the relevant databases. This would enable the Sri Lankan Missions/Posts to reach out to Sri Lankan students and provide assistance whenever necessary.The Sri Lankan Missions/Posts in India request the Sri Lankan students to register themselves using the following links as per the State/Union Territory where they are currently studying/living:

  1. Eastern, Northern and Central States of India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal) and Union Territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Andaman and Nicobar Islands – Fill the Form 
  2. Southern States of India (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana) and Union Territory of Pondicherry – Fill the Form 
  3. Western States of India (Goa, Gujarat, and Maharashtra) – Fill the Form 

Sri Lankan Missions/Posts in India kindly invite all Sri Lankan students studying in India to register themselves on these digital platforms.

Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Chennai meets Hon. Chief Minister and the Governor of Kerala

Dr. D. Venkateshwaran, the Deputy High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Chennai met Mr. Pinarayi Vijayan, Hon. Chief Minister of Kerala and Mr. Arif Mohammad Khan, the Governor of Kerala on 30.06.2022 at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. In the meeting with the Chief Minister, held at Kerala Legislative Assembly building, Deputy High Commissioner stressed the historical cultural bond, biogeographic similarity between Sri Lanka & Kerala, while highlighting the assistance given by the India to Sri Lanka in hard times. Further, Deputy High Commissioner requested the Chief Minister to ‘Support Sri Lanka’ in this critical juncture which the Chief Minister acknowledged and agreed to seek the possibility to assist Sri Lanka. The Meeting with the Governor was held at Raj Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. As the Governor is, by virtue, the Chancellor of all Universities in State of Kerala, discussions were focused on possible education, technical & scientific collaborations between Kerala and Sri Lankan Universities as well as scholarships for Sri Lankan Students in Kerala Universities.