Eleven newly appointed ambassadors and high commissioners presented their credentials to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat on Tuesday, formally beginning their diplomatic assignments in Sri Lanka.
The envoys represent Brazil, Bangladesh, China, Austria, the United States, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Brunei Darussalam, Sudan, Guyana and Panama, Ada Derana and the Daily Mirror reported, both citing the President’s Media Division.
Who presented credentials
Seven presented credentials as ambassadors: Jorge Geraldo Kadri of Brazil, Wei Huaxiang of China, Dr. Robert Zischg of Austria, Eric S. Meyer of the United States, Francisco Manuel Comprés Hernández of the Dominican Republic, Dr. Mohammed Abdalla Ali Eltom of Sudan and Nubiela Yanarith Ayala of Panama.
Four presented credentials as high commissioners, the title used between Commonwealth member states: D.M. Salahuddin Mahmud of Bangladesh, Prof. Kwasi Obiri-Danso of Ghana, Siti Arnyfariza Md Jaini of Brunei Darussalam and Dharamkumar Seeraj of Guyana.
Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Minister Vijitha Herath and Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake attended the ceremony.
Not all are resident in Colombo
Several of the envoys are accredited to Sri Lanka from posts elsewhere. The Daily Mirror reported that the ambassadors of Brazil, China and the United States are based in Colombo, while those of Austria, the Dominican Republic, Sudan and Panama are based in New Delhi or Hanoi. Ada Derana gave the same three cities without assigning them to individual missions, and neither outlet said where the four high commissioners are stationed.
Meyer completes a rapid handover
For the United States, Tuesday’s ceremony resolves a title that had been provisional for nearly two weeks. Eric Meyer was sworn in as ambassador on August 13 and arrived in Colombo on Monday, where Sri Lankan newsrooms continued to style him ambassador-designate. An envoy assumes the office formally only on presenting credentials to the head of state, which Meyer did the day after landing — an unusually short interval.
Wei Huaxiang arrived on August 11 to succeed Qi Zhenhong, whose departure in July drew farewell calls from across the political spectrum.
Group credential ceremonies are routine in Colombo; the President received six envoys at a single sitting in April. Eleven at once is a larger cohort than usual.
