Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath was accorded a traditional Māori “Pōwhiri” welcome at New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Tuesday, becoming the first Sri Lankan Foreign Minister to receive the ceremonial honour during an official visit.
In a post on X, Herath said he was honoured to receive the welcome and described it as a significant moment at the start of his visit. He also met Gerry Brownlee, Speaker of New Zealand’s House of Representatives, for talks on strengthening cooperation in trade, education and parliamentary affairs. Brownlee recalled leading a cross-party parliamentary delegation to Sri Lanka in July 2024.
Herath is in New Zealand and Australia from 26 May to 3 June at the invitation of both governments. A centrepiece of the New Zealand leg is the planned opening of Sri Lanka’s new High Commission in Wellington — the first formal Sri Lankan mission in the capital — which is expected to provide diplomatic and consular services to more than 30,000 Sri Lankans living in the country.
During the same visit, the Minister announced that Sri Lanka had surpassed one million tourist arrivals for 2026. He is also due to hold bilateral talks with his counterparts, New Zealand’s Winston Peters and Australia’s Penny Wong.
