The newly appointed Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Türkiye, Saranya Hasanthi Urugodawatte Dissanayake, presented Credentials to President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 27 December 2022 at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, accrediting her as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the Republic of Türkiye.During the meeting President Erdoğan, extended his greetings to President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremasinghe.
He further recalled Sri Lanka’s long standing bilateral relations with Türkiye with connections dating back to around 09th Century during the Ottoman Empire.
He noted that first formal relations began with the Ottoman Empire appointing an Honorary Consul to Sri Lanka in 1864 with residence in Galle.President Erdoğan also recalled his visit to Sri Lanka in 2005 as the then Prime Minister of Türkiye and noted the humanitarian assistance extended by the Government of Türkiye to Sri Lanka as well as the donation of medical supply to Sri Lanka in August 2022.President Erdoğan expressed his pleasure on the continuous support for the operation of Turkish Airlines in Sri Lanka stating that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkish Airlines was one of the few airlines that continued its services between Istanbul and Colombo.Ambassador Dissanayake thanked President Erdoğan for his remarks and stated that as a senior career diplomat, and being mandated by the President of Sri Lanka, she remains firmly committed to further strengthen the longstanding and cordial bilateral relations between the two countries.