High-flying Sri Lankan diplomat felicitated by the US
August 10, 2017 01:48 pm
Former Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States Prasad Kariyawasam was given a stately farewell by US government officials at a reception held in his honour on August 09, as he took leave from his duties as ambassador to take up a new assignment as the Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The reception organised by the US state department hosted an array of distinguished well wishers of Sri Lanka, including several US government representatives, foreign diplomats and representatives from business establishments.
Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam recalled his initial memories in the US stating that when he initially arrived in Washington in 2014 his job description included plentiful free-time to indulge in ‘playing golf’. He later stated that through the symbiotic efforts of US officials and the government of Sri Lanka, a strong bond has now been forged between the two nations.
The ambassador also stated that the watershed election in 2015, where the people of Sri Lanka exercised their long cherished franchise to elect a new government proved to be a launch pad to strengthen the bilateral relationship between the US and Sri Lanka that has now reached unprecedented.
Under his purview, the affiliation between the United States and Sri Lanka grew from strength to strength. The inaugural Partnership Dialogue between the US and Sri Lanka in 2016 helped establish a framework for the pursuit of bi-lateral cooperation for the future.
Several high ranking US diplomats who visited the island nation during the tenure of ambassador Kariyawasam expressed their gratitude towards him holding him in utmost regard for his skillful diplomacy. Notably, he was recognized for possessing the diplomatic fortitude to navigate 2 regime changes in Sri Lanka and the US.
Assistant Chief of Protocol Gladys Boluda recalled the Ambassador’s close association with the State Department in the past three years and remarked that the turnout at the reception was a statement to his accessibility to his peers and interlocutors at all times. Echoing a long-held view in the State Department that governments send their best to serve in Washington D.C., she said this was certainly justified in the case of Ambassador Kariyawasam, whose next assignment in Colombo further strengthened this claim.
The ambassador displayed his virtue by stating, “Though I wind up as Ambassador to the USA, I want to say that I will forever, remain an Ambassador for ‘US-Sri Lanka relations.” Displaying his valuable contribution towards Sri Lankan diplomacy
