Ambassador Tilak Ranaviraja visits Spain to present credentials to UNWTO Secretary General

Friday, 19 February 2016 00:04 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Ambassador Tilak Ranaviraja presented his credentials to World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary-General Taleb Rifal on 22 January in Madrid.

At a discussion which followed the presentation of credentials, Rifal commended the significant contributions made by Sri Lanka to the work of the organisation since its inception in 1946. Further, he also drew reference to the fact that Sri Lanka is one of the most promising tourist destinations with a variety of attractions in a limited geographical area to offer its visitors. In reply, Ambassador Ranaviraja outlined the policy initiatives taken by the new National Government to develop the tourism industry in keeping with its thrust for economic diplomacy as well as the measures taken to strengthen the rule of law and good governance in the country. He added that he looks forward to working closely with the World Tourism Organization in the coming years.

During this visit, Ambassador Ranaviraja also attended the UNWTO Conference for Tourism and Security as the Head of the Delegation on behalf of the Minister of Tourism. While speaking at the conference, he stated that the Government of Sri Lanka fully endorsed and support the theme of the conference and underlined the relevance of the theme of the conference to Sri Lanka having experienced most brutal forms of terrorism for 30 years and a devastating natural disaster in its history when it was stuck by a Tsunami in 2004.

Furthermore, Ranaviraja took this opportunity to present open papers of his credentials to Chief of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain. He will be presenting his credentials to King Felipe VI of Spain in the near future.