SL envoy to Austria assumes duties

Sri Lankan Ambassador to the Republic of Austria, Saroja Sirisena assumed duties at the Mission on Monday.

The Ambassador-designate assumed duties by lighting the traditional oil lamp. Religious observance and chanting of pirith were conducted by Ven. Seelawansa Thera of the Austrian Dhamma-Zentrum Nyanaponika.

Addressing the staff, Ambassador-designate Saroja Sirisena emphasised the need to raise the profile of Sri Lanka in Austria towards increasing political and economic relations. She highlighted the need to engage actively to rebuild the tourism industry of Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Austrian outbound travel industry.

Ambassador-designate Saroja Sirisena joined Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1998 and served as Director General Economic Affairs, Director General Public Diplomacy and Spokesperson of the Foreign Affairs Ministry immediately prior to her appointment in Vienna.

She served as the Sri Lanka Consul General in Mumbai, from July 2014 to March 2018.

Her appointments in Colombo also include a secondment at the Economic Development Ministry as Director General or External Resources as well as several key appointments at the Foreign Ministry including Director Consular Affairs, Director South Asia and SAARC, Deputy Director /Economic Affairs, Assistant Director/Economic Affairs.

In her diplomatic career, Ambassador-designate Saroja Sirisena held diplomatic positions in several Sri Lanka Missions abroad. She served in the Sri Lanka Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva as Minister, and in the Sri Lankan Embassy to Belgium, Luxemburg and European Union as Minister-Counsellor. She was the Acting Secretary General at Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO and served as First Secretary in the Sri Lanka Permanent Delegation to UNESCO.

Ambassador-designate Saroja Sirisena holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Melbourne, Australia and completed postgraduate studies at the École nationale d’administration in France. She is a past pupil of Devi Balika Vidyalaya, Colombo.