DUBAI: Sri Lankans in the United Arab Emirates are gearing up for yet another major round of celebrations marking their country’s 70th Independence Day at a gala community event organized by the Consulate General for Dubai and the northern emirates.
‘Sri Lankan Day 2018’ to be held on Friday, 9 February at Zabeel Park in Dubai from 10:00am to 11:00pm is one of several events held to celebrate this year’s Independence Day with the support of the Sri Lankan community in the UAE
This family-oriented event, which is open to Sri Lankans, Emiratis and the other nationals, will consist of a number of activities such as UAE-Sri Lanka friendship walk, a cultural show, food stalls serving authentic Sri Lankan food, free spectacle donations, a blood donation camp, a mega musical show, and much more.
Sri Lanka’s Consulate General in the UAE kicked off the Independence Day celebrations in Dubai and the northern emirates by hosting a reception at the Armani Hotel nestled in Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.
Addressing the large gathering of top government officials, diplomats, business leaders, members of the Sri Lankan community and the media, Charitha Yattogoda, the Consul General of Sri Lanka, said:” “The Emirate of Dubai, which saw skyrocketing development and economic growth under the vision and excellent leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has always been a model for development for cities across the globe. The UAE has always been an inspiration for Sri Lanka to sketch its own ambitions in its trajectory on the way to becoming a metropolitan hub.
“Over the decades, Sri Lanka has enjoyed friendly relations with the UAE in the fields of trade, investment, tourism and economic cooperation. The cordial relations between Sri Lanka and the UAE are based on trust, mutual understanding and friendship. The UAE is the largest export market for the Sri Lankan products and the largest source of imports to Sri Lanka in the GCC region. The total bilateral trade turnover between the countries has now reached over USD 1.34 billion.”
Speaking on the developments in Sri Lanka, the Consul General further added “Today, Sri Lanka is celebrating its 70th anniversary of independence at a significant time when the development process spearheaded by His Excellency the President and the Honourable Prime Minister of Sri Lanka is gaining its momentum in both local and international spheres. Along with such positive developments in the context of economy, the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation launched the National Policy on Reconciliation and Co-Existence in 2017, fulfilling the timely need for an expressly stated and comprehensive National Policy on Reconciliation. This policy aims to ensure the notion of nationhood to foster a stronger sense of togetherness of all Sri Lankans through dialogue, arbitration and activities to prevent reoccurrences of marginalization and conflicts.”
The Independence Day reception held to mark the 70th Anniversary of the Diplomatic Relations and the 25th Anniversary of the establishment of the Consulate General was colorfully concluded on 4th February 2018 with a number of dance items portraying the traditional Sri Lankan culture, by the leading Sri Lankan dance troupe of Chandana Wickramasinghe. Representing the Government of the United Arab Emirates was H.E. Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, while more than 40 Consuls General representing their respective Consulates General in Dubai and the Northern Emirates also participated in the special function.
In concluding his speech, Mr. Yattogoda invited the guests to attend the ‘Sri Lankan Day 2018’ event, the first of its kind to be held in the UAE.
