Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism Vijitha Herath will undertake an official visit to New Zealand and Australia from May 26 to June 3 at the invitation of both governments, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Sunday.
A key highlight of the New Zealand leg will be the ceremonial opening of the Sri Lanka High Commission in Wellington — the first formal Sri Lankan diplomatic mission established in the New Zealand capital. Sri Lanka was previously represented from Auckland.
During the visit, Minister Herath will hold bilateral discussions with his counterparts, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong. He will also meet senior government representatives, officials, business leaders, academics, think tanks and members of the Sri Lankan community in both countries, according to the ministry.
The visit is expected to “further strengthen Sri Lanka’s longstanding relations with both New Zealand and Australia and enhance cooperation in areas of mutual interest”, the ministry said in a statement carried by Ada Derana and NewsFirst.
Australia has been a significant development partner for Sri Lanka this cycle, with the Central Bank and the Australian High Commission partnering on a financial-literacy programme for MSMEs under the S4IE umbrella. Canberra’s Export Finance Agency was at the centre of a separate accountability thread after the Treasury cyber heist channel involved that body, which Sri Lankan investigators have pursued in coordination with Australian authorities.
The Australia leg also lands as Sri Lanka navigates rising rejection rates for Sri Lankan student-visa applicants to Australia, now at 38 per cent, and as SriLankan Airlines deepens its Sydney ground-handling tie-up with Menzies Aviation on the commercial side.
Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya recently completed a UK visit centred on the 22nd Commonwealth Education Forum, where she met UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and senior education officials, making Herath’s Pacific bilateral trip the second high-profile NPP ministerial outing in two weeks.
Sources: Ada Derana, NewsFirst.
