The 68 th Independence Day celebration was ceremonially held on Thursday 4 th February 2016 at the Consulate General premises with a large gathering of Sri Lankan expatriates living in Dubai & Northern Emirates.
Sri Lanka Consul General for Dubai & Northern Emirates, Charitha Yattogoda inaugurated the ceremony hoisting the National Flag followed by singing the National Anthem, lighting of the traditional oil lamp, reading messages of H.E the President, Hon. Prime Minister and the Hon. Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka. Multi faith religious observances were conducted by respective clergies from Buddhist, Hindu, Islam and Catholic religions, bestowing blessings upon people and the Government of Sri Lanka.
Addressing the gathering, the Consul General reiterated that our motherland is embarking on a new chapter in developments in Sri Lanka as well as our relations with the global community of nations highlighting very cordial and friendly relations that Sri Lanka has been maintaining with the UAE in the fields of Trade, Investment, Tourism and economic cooperation. He further highlighted in his speech, that the new Government of Sri Lanka marking 2016 as the year of the beginning of a new era, has recently launched ‘Mega City Structure Plan’ which envisages to launch 160 new projects that will develop all cities across the country equipped with all modern amenities with the objective of transforming Sri Lanka into a higher income Smart city and the Center of Excellence in Asia by 2030.
A special four-page newspaper supplement covering Sri Lanka was published on ‘Khaleej Times’ which is one of the leading daily English
newspapers in UAE, giving wide publicity on tourism, trade and culture on Sri Lanka.
Presence of small girl & boy each representing Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher communities with their respective traditional costume, at the event, waiving the National Flag throughout, added more colour to the event while showcasing the solidarity in Sri Lanka.
Members of the Sri Lanka Business Council, journalists, Community leaders and a large number of Sri Lankan expatriates along with former Sri Lankan Cricket Captain Mr. Kumar Sangakkara with his family attended the function despite it being a busy working day in Dubai. The event concluded with the serving of traditional delicacies made by Sri Lankan chefs and Ceylon Tea for the invitees.
Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Dubai & Northern Emirates 5 th February 2016