Ambassador G.M.V. Wishwanath Aponsu, presented his Letter of Credence to the Chairperson (Speaker) of Mejlis (Parliament) of Turkmenistan Gülşat Mämmedowa on 08 December 2022 at the Mejlis Complex in Ashgabat accrediting him as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sri Lanka to Turkmenistan.
Welcoming the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Turkmenistan, the Chairperson of Mejlis Gülşat Mämmedowa congratulated Ambassador Wishwanath Aponsu and expressed their confidence that he will continue to further fortify the relations between the two countries. While conveying greetings from President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and the people of Sri Lanka to President Serdar Berdimuhamedow and the people of Turkmenistan, the Ambassador assured to make every effort to further strengthen bilateral relations specially in trade, investment, energy, tourism and legislature sectors.
During the meeting with the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Vepa Hajiyev at the Foreign Office of Turkmenistan, Ambassador Aponsu underlined the importance of convening bilateral political consultations, exchanging high-level visits, establishing inter-parliamentary interactions, strengthening the existing cooperation in the fields of agriculture, textile industries, education, culture & arts, tourism, environment and urban planning. The Deputy Foreign Minister assured to Ambassador Aponsu the support of the Government of Turkmenistan to strengthen the relations between the two countries. It was also proposed to make a high-level visit from Turkmenistan to Sri Lanka in the first Quarter of 2023.
The Ambassador also met the Minister of Energy, Deputy Minister of Trade and Foreign Economic Relations and expressed the importance of expanding two-way trade and investment and strengthening cooperation in power, energy and chemical sectors between Sri Lanka and Turkmenistan. The Turkmenistan side agreed to consider the matters during a future high-level visit and discussed the possibility of holding a virtual meeting between the two business chambers in advance. Discussions were also held with the Head of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Turkmenistan with a view of expanding existing relations in the fields of industry, trade, investments, tourism and other related sectors of cooperation.
Ambassador Aponsu is a Grade I Officer of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service and served as the Acting High Commissioner in Sri Lanka High Commission in Singapore and in Sri Lanka’s Missions in Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and India. He is a graduate in Management and Finance of the University of Colombo, and holds Masters Degrees in Political Science and in International Relations from the University of Kelaniya and Annamalai University, India respectively. He is a past pupil of Prince of Wales College in Moratuwa.
Sri Lanka Embassy
Tehran
15 December 2022
