Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Brazil leaves after end of tenure

Friday, 1 September 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil retired General Jagath Jayasuriya has left after his tenure ended on 27 August, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Ambassador (General) Jayasuriya who was appointed as Sri Lankan Ambassador to Brazil on 5 August 2015 left Brazil on 27 August after completion of his tour of duty in Brazil, the Ministry said in a statement.

The Ministry of External Relations of Brazil hosted a farewell reception in honour of the Sri Lankan Ambassador on 24 August at Itamaraty Palace in Brasilia. The reception was attended by diplomats from Asian and Latin American countries and representatives from Brazilian Government agencies.

Delivering the welcome speech, Ambassador Georges Lamaziére, General Under-Secretary for Asia and the Pacific of the Ministry of External Relations of Brazil appreciated the tremendous contribution made by Jayasuriya to further strengthen the bilateral relations between Brazil and Sri Lanka.

He further said Jayasuriya’s contribution towards enhancing bilateral relations is very impressive and emphasised the envoy’s involvement in developing bilateral trade and cultural relations. He highlighted that many trade related activities were initiated by Jayasuriya and several trade delegations were also exchanged during his time. The Ambassador also pointed out that for the first time, Brazilians could see Vesak festival in Brasilia twice during his tenure, and the Jayasuriya made it happen with the assistance of Buddhist countries in Asia.

Addressing the gathering, Jayasuriya thanked officials at the Ministry of External Relations and all other Government authorities both in Central and State Governments for the excellent support given to him during his tenure of service in Brazil.

He also said that during the last two years, the Embassy had organised many programs in and out of the capital Brasilia and had nine major events in commercially important states outside Brasilia which include Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Rio Grande Sul, Bahia and Goiasa and all the programs were very successful.