His Excellency Mr Mahinda Rajapaksa
President of Sri Lanka

The welcome message from the new President will be available soon.

Sri Lanka in the Commonwealth

did you know?

• Sri Lanka became a member of the Commonwealth in 1948
• Sri Lanka became an independent country on the 4th of February 1948
• Sri Lanka has been competing in the Commonwealth Games since 1938, and has won 10 medals during this time
• Sri Lanka was the first Commonwealth state to have a female prime minister. Sirimavo Bandaranaike served for three periods of office: 1960-65, 1970-77 and 1994-2000
• This country hosts a national chapter of the Commonwealth Human Ecology Council which has been involved in rebuilding housing after the 2004 tsunami
• Sanath Jayasuriya was Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World in 1996, and Muttiah Muralitharan in 2000 and 2006
• Sri Lanka has recorded by far the fastest growth in telephone landlines per capita in the Commonwealth over 2002-07

Senior international officers

• Dr Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Director of Economic Affairs, Commonwealth Secretariat 2001-08
• Professor Ranjini Mendis, former Chair of the Association for Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies
• Joe Silva, Vice-President, Commonwealth Legal Education Association
• Radhika Coomaraswamy, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict

Commonwealth meetings hosted

• 1980 Eighth Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Colombo
• 2006 Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting
• 2008 Seventh Commonwealth Youth Ministers Meeting

Commonwealth Projects

Communications Consultant – Tourism (2007/08)
This Commonwealth Secretariat commissioned project focused on improving internal and external communications for the Sri Lankan Ministry of Tourism through the development of a five year strategic plan and implementation of improvements to existing communication methodologies.

Development of the Rural SME Sector (2007/08)
Technical assistance is being provided to the Ministry of Small and Rural Industries to enable it promote competitive and sustainable small rural enterprises. The aim was to develop a policy framework and strategies to increase business opportunities in rural areas, generate employment and strengthen co-ordination of SME activities. The Industrial Development Board, a key implementation organ under the Ministry, under went restructuring to ready it for the implementation of the new strategies.

Establishment of a Public Debt Management Office (2005/06)
A team of experts, commissioned by the Commonwealth Secretariat, assisted Sri Lanka to establish a Public Debt Management Office (PDMO). The team assessed the feasibility of introducing and utilising CS-DRMS 2000+ software for domestic debt recording and management. Training workshops were held for those utilising the software package.

Assistance to the Government of Sri Lanka to Implement a Programme of Economic Reform (2003/04)
The Commonwealth Secretariat provided technical advise to assist the government develop a programme of economic reform involving macroeconomic stabilisation and structural adjustment. Advice on the budget preparations for 2004 and on preparations for the Sri Lanka Aid Group meeting was also provided.

Consultant Biometrician, Tea Research Institute of Sri Lanka (1998)
The objective of this Commonwealth Secretariat commissioned advisory project was the provision of a long-term expert for research management at the Tea Research Institute.