Sri Lanka welcomes the recent ceasefire agreement in Gaza.

On the eve of his return to the White House, President-elect Donald Trump promised to sign a blitz of executive orders on his first day as president, telling supporters that he would move with "historic speed and strength" in the hours after taking the oath of office.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, Wijayanthi Edirisinghe held a productive meeting with Director General of the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, Sunanta Kangvalkulkij recently. The meeting reinforced the long-standing and cordial bilateral relationship between Sri Lanka and Thailand built upon shared cultural, religious, and trade ties.

Sri Lanka signed the agreement for the Hajj pilgrimage – 2025 on 11 January 2025, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The agreement was signed by the Sri Lankan delegation headed by the Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs of Sri Lanka, Dr. Sunil Senevi, and the Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Abdulfattah Bin Sulaiman Mashat. This agreement demonstrates the commitment of both governments to enhancing the pilgrimage experience for Sri Lankan Muslims. Minister Senevi is visiting Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Thailand, Wijayanthi Edirisinghe met with Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), Kriengkrai Thiennukul recently to discuss enhancing trade, investment, tourism and industrial collaboration between Sri Lanka and Thailand.

Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Romania, Madurika Joseph Weninger hosted a distinguished meeting of the Asia Group, consisting of Heads of Missions from 15 countries based in Bucharest. This esteemed group includes Ambassadors from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, Waleed El Khereiji received Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Omar Lebbe Ameer Ajwad at the Foreign Ministry Headquarters in Riyadh recently.

BIMSTEC Secretary General, H.E. Indra Mani Pandey, called  on H.E. Sk. Bashir Uddin, Adviser to the Ministry of Commerce of Bangladesh. Secretary General congratulated Honourable Adviser on his appointment as Adviser to the Ministry and expressed gratitude for the continued support of the Ministry of Commerce in promoting cooperation in sectors of trade and investment, which Bangladesh leads.

The Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Mumbai together with the India Business Group (IBG) organised a business networking session at the Consulate with the participation of 17 senior management officials representing freight forwarding, shipping and tourism sectors, recently.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh, in collaboration with the Riyadh Municipality has launched a tree planting initiative in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia. The initiative also aligns with Saudi Arabia’s Green Initiative (SGI) under Vision 2030 which targets planting 10 billion trees in the Kingdom.

It is with deep sadness we learn of the tragic loss of life and injury caused by the crash of Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 at Muan Airport, Republic  of Korea yeaterday (29 December).