Sri Lanka seeks more robust and mutually rewarding relationship with Indonesia

Sri Lanka’s new Ambassador to Indonesia Dharshana M. Perera has expressed Sri Lanka’s firm commitment to work closely with the Government of Indonesia to ensure that the relationship between the two countries becomes more robust and mutually rewarding.

Presenting credentials to the Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta on Wednesday, Perera conveyed the greetings and best wishes of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to President Widodo.

During the discussion which followed the presentation of credentials, the Ambassador briefed the President on the developments in Sri Lanka following the elections in 2015 relating to the resolute steps taken to strengthen democracy, rule of law and good governance and the strong impetus placed on reinvigorating the economic and development agenda.

Sri Lanka and Indonesia share valuable partnerships in regional and international fora including NAM, IORA and are partners in the Indian Ocean affairs, he said.

On the bilateral front, recalling the age old connections between the countries and the contemporary relations formalised shortly after independence, the Ambassador observed the need to further invigorate the engagement especially in the political, trade, investment and tourism spheres.

Other areas identified for focused cooperation include, marine and fisheries matters, education, commercial agriculture, cooperation between the Legislatures, etc. also require further invigoration, he said.

The new Ambassador is a career diplomat recruited to the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1996. He is a graduate (E) from the University of Peradeniya and an old boy of S. Thomas College Mt. Lavinia. This is his first appointment as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka. 

He held several diplomatic positions at the Sri Lanka Missions in Washington DC, Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, Embassy in Bangkok and Deputy Permanent Representative to UNESCAP, and at Embassies in Moscow, and Rome.