Sri Lanka’s first resident High Commissioner to New Zealand, Prasanna Gamage presented his Letter of Credence to the Governor-General of New Zealand, Dame Cindy Kiro at the ceremony of presentation of credentials held at the Government House in Auckland, New Zealand on 31 January 2025.
This event marks a significant milestone for Sri Lanka – New Zealand bilateral relations, further strengthening diplomatic, trade, sport, education, tourism, and people-to-people ties between the two countries. High Commissioner Gamage conveyed warm greetings from the President of Sri Lanka, Anura Kumara Dissanayake and the Government of Sri Lanka, and expressed Sri Lanka’s commitment to furthering cooperation with New Zealand. He emphasized Sri Lanka’s keenness to work closely with New Zealand in collaborating in multilateral forums and addressing global challenges. High Commissioner Gamage also briefed the Governor-General on the recent political and economic developments of Sri Lanka.
Governor-General Dame Kiro extended her best wishes to High Commissioner Gamage and reaffirmed New Zealand’s commitment to fortifying bilateral relations with Sri Lanka. She underscored the significant contribution of the Sri Lankan community in New Zealand and welcomed the establishment of the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Wellington.
The Sri Lankan Government is in the process of finalizing logistical arrangements in establishing the High Commission in Wellington, which will soon be open to the public. This Mission will serve as the diplomatic representation of Sri Lanka in New Zealand, facilitating enhanced bilateral economic engagement with New Zealand and providing essential consular services to Sri Lankan nationals. The Government of Sri Lanka is committed to ensuring the smooth functioning of the mission and developing closer ties between the two countries.
This milestone highlights Sri Lanka’s commitment to expanding its diplomatic outreach in the Asia-Pacific region and enhancing partnership with New Zealand. The High Commission’s establishment will open new avenues for collaboration, bringing mutual benefits to both countries and their people.
High Commissioner Prasanna Gamage is a member of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service. He joined the Foreign Service in 1998 and served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to VietNam from 2019 to 2022.
Former chairman of the Lindula-Talawakelle Urban Council – Asoka Sepala has been arrested today (June 02).
The Colombo Chief Magistrate has ordered to remand the suspect until June 11.
The former chairman has been arrested by the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) for causing a loss of Rs. 2.38 million to the government, during the issuance of a tender to lease stall belonging to the Urban Council.
It is said that instead of awarding the tender to the highest bidder, it was given to a lower bidder, resulting in the aforementioned loss.
Former Director of the National Lotteries Board (NLB) – Thusitha Halloluwa, has been further remanded until June 04, by the Fort Chief Magistrate’s Court.
Halloluwa remains in custody over alleged misappropriation of government assets belonging to the NLB.
He was previously arrested and released on bail on May 02 over the alleged misuse of a computer and a mobile phone valued at over Rs. 470,000 during his tenure as the Acting Director of the National Lotteries Board.
The Electricity (Amendment) Bill, which was recently tabled in Parliament, has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
Accordingly, the Supreme Court today (June 02) ordered that the petition filed by the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers’ Union requesting a ruling that certain provisions of the Electricity Bill are unconstitutional be taken up for hearing on June 06.
The order was issued when the petition was taken up before a three-member Supreme Court bench comprising Justice A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Arjuna Obeyesekere and Priyantha Fernando.