Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Italy Jagath Wellawatte presented his Letters of Credence to the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella at the Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome on 18 February, 2022. 

Following the presentation of Letters of Credence, Ambassador Jagath Wellawatte conveyed warm greetings and best wishes from the President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa to President Sergio Mattarella, the government and people of the Italian Republic.  

Immediately after the presentation of credentials, Ambassador Jagath Wellawatte was granted an opportunity for a tête-à-tête meeting with President Sergio Mattarella during which Ambassador Wellawatte expressed his commitment to continue to improve bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Italy at all levels. 

Ambassador Wellawatte indicated that Italy is the home away home for a large number of Sri Lankan expatriate communities, who have contributed immensely to the development of Sri Lanka and Italy alike. The Ambassador expressed his gratitude to the Italian government for hosting a large number of Sri Lankan expatriates in Italy, in particular, for paying special attention to the welfare of the community during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Ambassador Wellawatte expressed his mission to enhance the existing relations and cooperation in the areas of bilateral relations, culture, trade, investment, labour and education. While seeking support from the Italian authorities to get training opportunities for the Sri Lankan workforce towards enhancing their skills and knowledge, the Ambassador expressed his desire to expand cooperation and partnership in the education sector, focusing on the younger generation for the mutual benefit of both countries.

President Sergio Mattarella, while conveying his greetings to President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, stated that he was very impressed by the presence of a large number Sri Lankan expatriates in Italy in various sectors and their contribution to the development of the country. The President affirmed Italy’s support for joint efforts to strengthen bilateral relations in diverse sectors between the two countries.

Ambassador Wellawatte is an academic in the field of Sociology. He has a lengthy history in the capacity of driving national policy through an academic career as a senior lecturer of sociology for nearly 30 years and is an avid researcher in various fields of sociology. He also has cooperate experience spanning across various fields, encompassing high-level decision making within the private sector, to policy making at the national level.

Ambassador Wellawatte earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Colombo in 1987. He had been serving as a Senior Lecturer of the Department of Sociology of the University of Colombo immediately prior to his appointment as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Italy. His previous prestigious positions include Chairman of Sri Lanka Insurance Cooperation, Chairman of State Mortgage and Investment Bank, Chairman of National Child Protection Authority, Chairman of Foreign Employment Bureau of Sri Lanka, Director of the Lanka Hospitals Cooperation PLC, Member of the Council of the Gampaha Wickramarachchi of Indigenous Medicine University. Further, he has published a number of academic papers on various subjects and engaged in research in economic, political and social fields. He also has authored many books in sociology.  Ambassador Wellawatte is married to Shalika Fernando and has 4 children.

Embassy of Sri Lanka

Rome

24 February 2022

At the invitation of K. Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law of Singapore, Hon. M.U.M. Ali Sabry, PC, Minister of Justice of Sri Lanka, led a high-level delegation on an official visit to Singapore from 13^th – 17^th February 2022.

During the visit, the Minister met with his counterpart K. Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law of Singapore and held a wide-ranging discussion on collaboration between Sri Lanka and Singapore in the legal sphere. 

Minister Ali Sabry thanked Minister K. Shanmugam for the invitation extended to undertake this visit and for the hospitality extended to Sri Lanka delegation.

Briefings were provided on recent amendments made to several important pieces of legislation including the Criminal Code, Religious Harmony Act, Internal Security Act of Singapore and on latest criminal law reforms implemented by the Government of Singapore. The two sides discussed the lessons learnt in the operational aspects of the legislation and amendments.

With a view to benefitting from Singapore’s learnings through its evolution of legislation related to national security and social cohesion, the two Ministers agreed to explore the possibility of sending a team of officials from Singapore to Sri Lanka to gain a wider understanding of the Sri Lankan legal context and to conduct a series of webinars for the officials of the Ministry of Justice of Sri Lanka.

During the visit the Minister visited the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) Resource and Counselling Centre (RCC) on the 14th of February. Associate Professor Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development and the senior management of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) joined Minister Ali Sabry explaining their approach on dealing with religious extremism with a specific emphasis on rehabilitation.

The Sri Lanka delegation participated in a virtual briefing on the court automation process of Singapore conducted by the Supreme Court of Singapore. Citing Sri Lanka’s own efforts in modernising and automation of the courts in Sri Lanka, Minister Ali Sabry stated that the system implemented in Singapore could be a valuable case study for Sri Lanka. It was agreed to conduct a series of webinars on the court automation system of Singapore for Sri Lankan officials.

The Minister also paid a visit to the Maxwell Chambers of Singapore on 15^th February. Several briefings on Singapore’s legal technology platform, Singapore’s dispute resolution ecosystem, Singapore International mediation Centre, Singapore International Arbitration Court and Singapore International Commercial Court were conducted at the Maxwell Chambers. 

A visit to the Harmony Centre of Singapore took place on the 16^th of February, where the Minister for Culture, Community and Youth and Second Minister for Law of Singapore Edwin Tong, met and welcomed the Sri Lankan delegation. The Harmony Centre officials conducted a briefing and a tour of the centre focusing on Islam and interfaith relations and on the role of Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), also known as the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore in keeping the Islamic community in Singapore safe from the continuous and evolving threat of radicalisation. The MUIS leadership explained their approach was to work with the community in forging the Singaporean Muslim identity. It was highlighted that they are prioritising shaping religious life within Singapore’s national context.

The Minister also paid visits to the Internal Security Department of Singapore (ISD) Heritage Centre and the Diversity in Harmony Gallery, and the Inter-Religious Organization (IRO) and had interactions with several prominent members of the Singaporean civil society. 

The Sri Lanka delegation led by the Minister of Justice consisted of Prof. Rohan Gunaratna, Director General of the Institute of National Security Studies, Sri Lanka. Mr. Navin Marapana, PC, Head of Sub Committee of the Ministry of Justice, tasked with the Digitization and Court Automation of the entire legal/judicial system in Sri Lanka and Mr. Shamir Zavahir, Head of Reforms & Coordinating Secretary of the Minister’s Bureau at the Ministry of Justice. 

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Singapore Sashikala Premawardhane , First Secretary Nanduni Govinnage and First Secretary Madusanka Jayasinghe accompanied the Minister of Justice for the high-level meetings and visits.

The visit was coordinated by the High Commission of Sri Lanka in Singapore with the support of the Ministries of Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs of Singapore, and the Ministry of Justice and Foreign Ministry of Sri Lanka. 

High Commission of Sri Lanka

Singapore

24 February 2022

COLOMBO, 22 February 2022: Even before COVID-19 plagued the world, gender-based violence was already one of the greatest human rights violations. However, while lockdowns were imposed across the world as a protective measure to curb the spread of the virus, it also brought out another deadly pandemic to the surface – the shadow pandemic of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), further exacerbating existing inequalities for women and girls. Countless women experiencing domestic violence, suddenly found themselves confined at home along with their perpetrators. The pandemic has also hampered authorities’ ability to respond to gender-based violence, at a time when women and girls need these services most. Thus both state and non-state actors were forced to switch to virtual and remote operations in order to continue to serve and protect women and girls. 

Recognizing the gaps in the response mechanism, UNFPA, through the Joint Program for Resilience supported by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, stepped in to provide technical support and equipment to enable key authorities to engage in remote SGBV referral, counselling, and other follow up action. Capacity building programs were also conducted at all levels and across all sectors to effectively address SGBV issues, especially during emergencies.  

As a part of this support, 15 Laptops, 42 CDMA phones and 2 virtual training manuals were officially handed over to the Hon. Piyal Nishantha by Mr Kunle Adeniyi, Representative UNFPA Sri Lanka and HE David Holly, Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives, to be distributed among the Women Development Officers based at the Women and Child Development Desks at the District and Divisional levels of Sri Lanka.

There will be a five-hour power cut tomorrow (25) as approved by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL).

A power cut of 4 hours and 40 minutes will occur in several zones while other zones, a power cut of 05 hours and 15 minutes.