The 75th Anniversary of Sri Lanka was celebrated at an impressive ceremony with the participation of the Sri Lankan community in Beijing and the Embassy Staff and their family members on 04th February 2023, at the Embassy premises.
The National Flag was hoisted by the Ambassador Dr. Palitha Kohona, to the echoes of the National Anthem. The traditional oil lamp was lit and two minutes silence was observed with solemnity to honour the heroes who fell to safeguard our freedom.
Seven monks led by the Chief Incumbent of Linguuang Temple the Most Ven. Chang Zang Thero, conducted the blessing ceremony.
The Independence Day Message of the President, was read out and the messages of the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister were made available.
Ambassador Dr. Palitha Kohona in his speech emphasised the need for Sri Lanka which had hither to been a model for developing countries to work together to help the country to overcome the financial crisis.
Patriotic Sri Lankans living in abroad should extend a helping hand to the motherland. Sri Lankans have enjoyed free education, free healthcare and many other benefits provided by the taxpayers. Now it was time for all to remember their motherland. The Ambassador requested the Sri Lanka community to consider investing in Sri Lanka.
In addition, Ambassador requested Sri Lankan to promote Sri Lanka among their Chinese friends. The Ambassador said that China will commence its outbound tourism through a pilot programme on 06th February, in which Sri Lanka was also included. The Ambassador thanked Chinese government for including Sri Lanka in the pilot programme. He expressed his confidence many Chinese friends will consider Sri Lanka as their tourism destination. Also he expressed confidence that Chinese conglomerates will invest in Sri Lanka.
A Sri Lankan lunch was served to the guests at the Ambassador’s Residence.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Beijing
05 February 2022
