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PRASADKARIYAWASAM
Ambassador of Sri Lanka
AMBASSADORKÅRERAAS
Norway
Tell us something people don’t know
about you and would be surprised
to hear. I really enjoy running. In
the next month, I will be running in
three different half-marathon and
marathon races – and they’re all for
a good cause!
(Embassy Photo)
What did you do prior to being posted to Washington I served as my
country’s high commissioner (ambassador) to India for nearly 4½ years until
I was posted to Washington in June 2014. I am familiar with the United
States because I was minister in the Sri Lankan Embassy in Washington from
1995 to 1998 and later was Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United Nations
from 2005 to 2008. I have also served in Riyadh and Geneva, in the latter
as ambassador to the U.N.
What do you most want to accomplish here? Sri Lanka has enjoyed a robust
relationship with the United States, but intermittent stress and dissonance
has affected its sustained progress. The United States is the most powerful
maritime nation in the world. Sri Lanka is a strategically located island
nation and we have the potential to develop greater maritime co-operation
for mutual benefit. I would like to bring our bilateral relations to a state of
irreversible excellence based on, among other matters, Sri Lanka’s renewed
commitment to democracy, rule of law and respect for human rights.
How has Sri Lanka most changed since the defeat of the Tamil Tigers
and the end of the long civil war in 2009? Since the conclusion of the
30-year conflict in 2009, Sri Lanka has achieved phenomenal economic
growth and is now poised to become a vibrant regional hub for shipping,
aviation and service industries based on its location, natural and human
resources and the stability that prevails throughout the island. The
election of the new president in January and re-affirmation of his reform
agenda at the parliamentary election in August will further consolidate the
transformation of Sri Lanka to a modern nation with even higher quality of
life and sustainable prosperity.
What are your favorite places in
Washington? D.C. has so much to
offer, so I can’t say I have just one
favorite but I do look forward to the
inauguration of the National Museum
of African American History and
Culture in 2016. I think the museum will contribute to the nation’s capital
by highlighting the important African-American culture and history.
What would you like to accomplish in your time in Washington? What are
the top issues on your agenda? I would like to maintain and strengthen
the excellent cooperation Norway has with the U.S. on a broad area of
common interests. This includes climate change and Arctic cooperation,
education with an emphasis on education for girls in conflict zones, trade
and promotion, defense and security
AMBASSADORMARTINDAHINDEN
Switzerland
What is your favorite book? I always
read several books at the same time,
and I always have many favorites. But
when I met President Jimmy Carter
earlier this year, he gave me a signed
copy of his book “The Hornet’s Nest”
on the American Revolution in the
South. It was a fascinating read!
What do you like to do in your free
time? History and food are among my
great interests. I am about to write
a book on the Swiss contribution
to culinary history. But I am also
fascinated by the culinary footprint
so many Swiss have left in the United
States.
The new government is a coalition of center-right and socialist parties.
How do you think that will work? The new national government reflects
the general will of the people for good governance, political stability and
reconciliation among communities and will help sustain high economic
growth for the benefit of all. Different political views of the constituent
elements of the national government can be easily harmonized for the
nation’s benefit.
Is Sri Lanka’s foreign policy shifting away from China toward India and
the West? Since Independence in 1948, Sri Lanka has consistently followed
a foreign policy of “friendship with all and enmity toward none” and has
succeeded in that effort. Successive governments continue in this path and
in this context have made adjustments whenever necessary in the national
interest. Our relations with major powers in our region and globally is not
a zero sum game.
What are your favorite places in Washington? I love the Library of Congress
and sometimes work in the main reading room in my spare time. I like
the National Gallery and silent encounters with masterpieces of art, and
Washington is so rich in wonderful places! And I am still discovering new
ones every day.
@EmbassyofSL
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