Sri Lanka and Australia conclude First Maritime Dialogue and Third Round of Senior Officials’ Talks in Colombo
September 23, 2019
The Sri Lankan delegation was led by Additional Secretary, Bilateral Affairs (East) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs P. Selvaraj, while the Australian Delegation was headed by First Assistant Secretary, South West Asia Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia Dr. Lachlan Strahan.
The two countries held extensive discussions on strengthening cooperation on key areas across the broad spectrum of relations, including Transnational Organized Crime, Defence, Reconciliation and Human Rights, Development Partnership, Foreign Ministry Cooperation and Regional and Multilateral issues. Both sides agreed to maintain the excellent momentum in the relationship, and underscored their commitment to a rule-based, open and inclusive regional order and to strengthening regional architecture, including the Indian Ocean Rim Association and the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium.
The Third round of Senior Officials’ Talks was preceded by the inaugural session of the Strategic Maritime Dialogue held between Sri Lanka and Australia on 16 September 2019 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Sri Lankan delegation was led by Additional Secretary, Multilateral Affairs of the Foreign Ministry Ahmed A. Jawad, while the Australian delegation was headed by First Assistant Secretary Dr. Lachlan Strahan. The Dialogue underlined the importance of working together on maritime safety and security in the Indian Ocean and collaborating on blue economy related initiatives.
The Joint Commission on Bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) between the two countries was also held on 17 September 2019. The TIFA talks co-chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade S.T. Kodikara and First Assistant Secretary Dr. Lachlan Strahan, highlighted the importance of developing stronger trade and investment links.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1947, Sri Lanka and Australia have enjoyed a longstanding bilateral relationship over seven decades, spanning diverse areas of cooperation, including political, economic, development and security spheres.
The Senior Officials’ Talks held biennially is the principal platform between Sri Lanka and Australia to take stock of the existing relations and to discuss avenues for strengthening future cooperation in keeping with policy priorities of the two countries.
The Australian Delegation included High Commissioner of Australia to Sri Lanka David Holly, Assistant Secretary Global Interests, Department of Defence Jarrod Howard, Minister-Counsellor Home Affairs, Australian High Commission in New Delhi Tara Cavanagh, Assistant Director, Sri Lanka/Maldives Section, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Dananthi Galapitage and officials of the Australian High Commission in Colombo. The Sri Lankan delegation was comprised of senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Digital Infrastructure and Information Technology, Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Christian Religious Affairs, Ministry of Health, Nutrition & Indigenous Medicine, Department of External Resources, Department of Immigration & Emigration and the Prison Headquarters.
The next round of Senior Officials’ Talks will be held in Canberra, Australia in 2021.
Sri Lanka and Australia to strengthen cooperation to counter people smuggling
September 9, 2019
Sri Lanka and Australia have re-dedicated themselves to counter people smuggling and discussed in detail avenues for strengthening cooperation to address the recent escalation of the number of people-smuggling ventures from Sri Lanka to Australia since May, 2019.
Foreign Secretary Ravinatha Aryasinha expressed Sri Lanka’s fullest support to Australia in curtailing human-smuggling operations originating from Sri Lankan shores, at a meeting held with a delegation for countering people-smuggling and human-trafficking led by Commander of Australia’s Joint Task Force, Operation Sovereign Borders, Major General Craig Furini on 03 September 2019. The Foreign Secretary also stressed the need to jointly develop sustainable and long-term strategies including targeted campaigns to change the public perception and to educate Sri Lankans on the risks involved in irregular migration.
Major General Furini noted that with the setting up of ‘Operation Sovereign Borders Policy’ in September 2013, there has been “zero chance” in reaching Australia by boat, as all illegal migrants by sea have been returned to their countries of origin. He added that they wish to develop mechanisms to address the root cause of the issue to effectively respond to people-smuggling.
The Australian Delegation, which also included High Commissioner of Australia to Sri Lanka, David Holly, Australia’s Ambassador for People Smuggling and Human Trafficking, Bryce Hutchesson and Manager, National Response Operations of the Australian Federal Police Commander, Jason Williams, thanked the Government of Sri Lanka for its continued cooperation to counter illegal migration.
Sri Lanka and Australia have a solid partnership which has been successful in combating people smuggling and transnational border crime. Sri Lanka continues to provide valuable support to Australia in combating people smuggling. The Joint Working Group on People Smuggling and Transnational Crime (JWG) between Sri Lanka and Australia, which is the principal forum to address people-smuggling and human-trafficking cooperation, was last held on 17 October 2018 in Sri Lanka. The next round of the JWG will be held in Canberra, on 11 October 2019.
Director General, East Asia, South East Asia & Oceania, Damayanthie Rajapakse, Director General, International Security and Counter Terrorism, Himalee Arunatilaka, Acting Director General, Public Diplomacy, Ruwanthi Delpitiya, Assistant Legal Advisor, Sanjika Kammanankada and relevant officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were associated with the Foreign Secretary during the talks.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
05 September 2019
Media Release: Appointment of Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
September 9, 2019
Media Release
Appointment of Lt. Gen. Shavendra Silva, Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
With reference to comments that have appeared since the above appointment, the following is noted:
- The appointment of the Army Commander of Sri Lanka is a sovereign decision by the Head of State.
- Foreign entities trying to influence the decisions and internal administrative processes of public service promotions in Sri Lanka is unwarranted and unacceptable.
- Articulating a position of concern on this appointment by certain bilateral partners and international organizations, based on allegations, is regrettable and contrary to the principles of natural justice espoused by all responsible members of the international community.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Colombo
20 August 2019
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මාධ්ය නිවේදනය
ලුතිනන් ජනරාල් ශවේන්ද්ර සිල්වා මහතා ශ්රී ලංකා යුධ හමුදාපති ධූරයට පත්කිරීම
ඉහත පත්කිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව පළ වූ අදහස් දැක්වීම් සම්බන්ධයෙන් පහත කරුණු සඳහන් කරනු ලැබේ.
- ශ්රී ලංකාවේ යුද හමුදාපතිවරයා පත් කිරීම රාජ්ය නායකයාගේ ස්වෛරී තීරණයකි.
- විදේශීය පාර්ශ්වයන් මඟින් ශ්රී ලංකාවේ රාජ්ය සේවයේ උසස්කිරීම් පිළිබඳ තීරණ හා අභ්යන්තරික පරිපාලනමය ක්රියාවලීන්ට බලපෑම් කිරීමට උත්සාහ දැරීම යුක්ති සහගත නොවන අතර, එය පිළිගත නොහැකි ක්රියාවකි.
- චෝදනා මත පදනම්ව, ඇතැම් ද්විපාර්ශ්වික හවුල්කරුවන් සහ ජාත්යන්තර සංවිධාන විසින් මෙම පත්කිරීම සැලකිලිමත් විය යුතු තත්ත්වයක් ලෙස පෙන්වා දෙනු ලැබීම කණගාටුවට කරුණක් වන අතර, එය ජාත්යන්තර ප්රජාවේ සියලුම වගකිවයුතු සාමාජිකයින් විසින් අනුගමනය කරනු ලබන ස්වාභාවික යුක්තියේ මූලධර්මවලට පටහැනි වේ.
විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්යාංශය
කොළඹ.
2019 අගෝස්තු 20 වැනි දින
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ஊடக வெளியீடு
இலங்கை இராணுவத் தளபதி லெப்டினன்ட் ஜெனரல் ஷவேந்திர சில்வா அவர்களின் நியமனம்
மேற்கண்ட நியமனத்தைத் தொடர்ந்து தோன்றிய கருத்துகள் தொடர்பில் பின்வருவன அவதானிக்கப்படுகின்றது:
- இலங்கை இராணுவத் தளபதியின் நியமனமானது அரச தலைவரின் இறையாண்மைக்குட்பட்ட தீர்மானமாகும்.
- இலங்கையில் பொதுச் சேவை பதவியுயர்வுத் தீர்மானங்கள் மற்றும் உள்ளக நிர்வாக செயன்முறைகளை பாதிக்கும் வகையிலான வெளிநாட்டு நிறுவனங்களின் முயற்சிகள் தேவையற்றவையும், ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள முடியாதவையுமாகும்.
- குற்றச்சாட்டுகளின் அடிப்படையில் சில இருதரப்பு பங்காளர்கள் மற்றும் சர்வதேச அமைப்புகளால் இந்த நியமனம் குறித்த அக்கறையுள்ளதொரு நிலையை குறிப்பிடுவது வருந்தத்தக்கதும், சர்வதேச சமூகத்தின் அனைத்து பொறுப்புள்ள உறுப்பினர்களும் முன்வைக்கும் இயற்கை நீதிக்கான கொள்கைகளுக்கு முரணானதுமாகும்.
வெளிநாட்டு அலுவல்கள் அமைச்சு,
கொழும்பு
2019 ஆகஸ்ட் 20
Revision of Electoral Register: Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mannar Districts in the Northern Province
August 29, 2019
The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is currently in a process of collecting information on Sri Lankans who were living in partially resettled/ non – resettled areas in Jaffna, Kilinochchi and Mannar Districts in the Northern Province and are currently living overseas to register their names in the electoral register. The list of relevant Grama Niladhari Divisions in the aforementioned Districts is as follows:
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Accordingly, the concerned Sri Lankans who wish to register them in the electoral register are kindly requested to duly fill the NC/F application form (Attached–Annex I) and submit to the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Canberra on or before 04th September 2019, enabling the High Commission to transmit the application to the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, for appropriate action.
The NC/F forms can also be downloaded from the official website of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka (wwww.elections.gov.lk)
High Commission of Sri Lanka
Canberra
29 August 2019
Admission to Sri Lankan Universities for Children of Migrant Workers
August 29, 2019
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) established by Government of Sri Lanka has pointed out the importance of providing the opportunity for Sri Lankan migrant workers returning Sri Lanka after completion of their overseas employment with their children to enroll their children to the Government Universities in Sri Lanka. In this regard, the Bureau of Foreign Employment of Sri Lanka, the institution coming under the purview of the Ministry of Telecommunications, Foreign Employment and Sports in consultation with the Ministry of Higher Education of Sri Lanka is now in the process of finding the actual requirement to develop required infrastructure in Sri Lanka to plan the future university admissions giving priorities for the children of migrant workers to enroll into the Government Universities.
Therefore, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment has sought the assistance of Sri Lankan Missions/ Posts overseas to collect information of migrant worker’schildren who are expected to be enrolled into the Government Universities for their higher education during the next two years.
Therefore, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Canberra requests the Sri Lankan migrant workers in Australia who are planning to return to Sri Lanka with their children to submit information on their children ( including the full name of the student and name of the degree etc.) who are expected to be enrolled into Government Universities in Sri Lanka.
Further information in this regard could be obtained from this Mission
via e-mail:admin@slhcaust.org
High Commission of Sri Lanka
Canberra
29 August 2019
Admission to Sri Lankan Government Schools for Children of Migrant Workers
August 29, 2019
The Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) established by Government of Sri Lanka has pointed out the importance of providing the opportunities for Sri Lankan migrant workers returning Sri Lanka after completion of their overseas employments with their children to enroll their children to the Government schools in Sri Lanka to continue studies in English medium.
In this regard, the Bureau of Foreign Employment of Sri Lanka, the institution coming under the purview of the Ministry of Telecommunications, Foreign Employment and Sports of Sri Lanka is now in the process of finding the actual requirement to develop required infrastructure and to start Englishmedium classes for the children of migrant workers to continue their studies in the Government schools as requested by the Ministry of Higher Education of Sri Lanka.
Therefore, the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment has sought the assistance of Sri Lankan Missions/ Posts overseas to collect information of migrant worker’s children who are expected to be enrolled into the Government schools in Sri Lanka to continue their studies in English medium during the next two years.
Therefore, the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Canberra requests the Sri Lankan migrant workers in Australia who are planning to return to Sri Lanka with their children to submit information on their children ( including the full name of the student, district and grade etc.) who are expected to be enrolled into Government schools in Sri Lanka to continue their studies in English medium.
| Grade | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| District | |||||||||||||
| Ampara | |||||||||||||
| Anuradhapura | |||||||||||||
| Badulla | |||||||||||||
| Batticaloa | |||||||||||||
| Colombo | |||||||||||||
| Galle | |||||||||||||
| Gampaha | |||||||||||||
| Hambanthota | |||||||||||||
| Jaffna | |||||||||||||
| Kalutara | |||||||||||||
| Kandy | |||||||||||||
| Kegalle | |||||||||||||
| Kilinochchi | |||||||||||||
| Kurunegala | |||||||||||||
| Mannar | |||||||||||||
| Matale | |||||||||||||
| Matara | |||||||||||||
| Monaragala | |||||||||||||
| Mullativu | |||||||||||||
| Nuwaraeliya | |||||||||||||
| Polonnaruwa | |||||||||||||
| Puttalam | |||||||||||||
| Ratnapura | |||||||||||||
| Trincomalee | |||||||||||||
| Vavuniya | |||||||||||||
Further information in this regard could be obtained from this Mission
via e-mail:admin@slhcaust.org
High Commission of Sri Lanka
Canberra
29 August 2019
NOTICE
August 6, 2019
Implementing free visa scheme for designated countries
Those who hold passports of listed countries and travel to Sri Lanka from 01.08.2019 to 31.01.2020 for tourist purposes are exempted paying ETA fee, in view of enhancing tourist arrivals from designated countries.
However, any foreign national who will be visiting Sri Lanka for a short period is required to apply ETA and ensure pre approval before the journey to avoid unnecessary delays at the port of entry and adhere with enhanced pre clearance. Read More »
Kandy Esala Perahera 5th to 14th August 2019
July 8, 2019
Vesak Celebrations at the Sri Lanka High Commission, Canberra
May 24, 2019
The Sri Lanka High Commission in Canberra celebrated Vesak on 17th May 2019 with the participation of the Sri Lankan Community in Canberra.
This year’s Vesak Programme included a Dhamma Sermon conducted by Venerable Kotapola Upali Thero of the Sri Lanka Canberra Buddhist Vihara. At the end of the Sermon, the Thero transferred merit to the people who lost their lives and invoked blessing to the people who were affected by the tragic events in Sri Lanka. Read More »
Video Clip released by the Sri Lanka Army Headquarters on the 10th anniversary of the Humanitarian Operation
May 20, 2019
Register with the High Commission
The Sri Lankan High Commission in Canberra would like to keep in touch with Sri Lankans and persons of Sri Lankan origin living in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and other Pacific Islands as well as Sri Lankan community organisations in those countries.
If you are a current/former Sri Lankan or an office bearer of a Sri Lankan community organisation we invite you to register with the High Commission.
RegisterAddress
Sri Lanka High Commission
61, Hampton Circuit
Yarralumla
ACT 2600