Sri Lanka plans to establish three new diplomatic missions — in China, Kazakhstan and Switzerland — and Cabinet approval has already been granted, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Employment Arun Hemachandra told Parliament on Friday, the Daily Mirror reported.
The three are:
- Chengdu, China — a reopening of the mission Sri Lanka closed in 2016
- Astana, Kazakhstan — a new mission
- Bern, Switzerland — a new mission
The stated reasoning
Hemachandra was responding to a question raised by MP Major General (Retd.) G.D. Sooriyabandara. He said the decision rested on the need to expand economic opportunities, strengthen bilateral diplomatic relations, attract investment, promote tourism, and address the consular needs of Sri Lankan communities living overseas.
Chengdu is the capital of Sichuan province and the principal commercial centre of western China, a market Sri Lanka’s existing missions in Beijing and Shanghai do not cover directly. Astana would give Sri Lanka its first resident presence in Central Asia.
Not reported
The filing does not say when any of the three missions will open, what they will cost, or how they will be staffed. It does not give the date of the Cabinet approval, or say whether the missions will be full embassies or consulates general — a distinction that matters for what consular and diplomatic functions each can perform.
It does not explain why the Chengdu mission was closed in 2016 or what has changed since. Nor does it say how a mission in Bern would relate to Sri Lanka’s existing presence in Switzerland at the United Nations Office in Geneva, or whether any existing mission elsewhere would be closed or downgraded to fund the three new posts.
No cost estimate, no timetable and no response from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs beyond the Deputy Minister’s answer is reported.
A single-source report
No other verified newsroom reachable from this desk had filed on the announcement at the time of writing.
Source: Daily Mirror.
