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Ministry of Foreign Affairs

විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය வெளிநாட்டலுவல்கள் அமைச்சு
Agency overview
Formed	1948
Preceding agency	Ministry of External Affairs and Defence
Jurisdiction	Government of Sri Lanka
Headquarters	Republic Building, Colombo 1 6°56′15″N 79°50′40″E / 6.937517°N 79.844308°E / 6.937517; 79.844308
Minister responsible	Vijitha Herath
Agency executive	Aruni Ranaraja, Secretary to the Ministry
Child agencies	Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute
Website	mfa.gov.lk

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v t e

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Sinhala: විදේශ කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශය Vidhesha Katayuthu Amathyanshaya; Tamil: வெளிநாட்டலுவல்கள் அமைச்சு) (also known as the Foreign Ministry or External Affairs Ministry) is a cabinet ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for conducting and managing Sri Lanka's foreign relations through oversight of its missions abroad via the Sri Lanka Overseas Service, as well as drafting and general implementation of the nation's foreign policy.

History

The ministry was formally established in 1948 following the independence of Ceylon as the Ministry of External Affairs and Defence, coming under the direct control of the Prime Minister of Ceylon. In 1977 the government led by J.R Jayawardena divided the ministry in two, forming the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of External Affairs. A.C.S Hameed was appointed as the first minister of External Affairs on 23 July 1977.

Overseas missions

The ministry has 65 overseas missions including 13 High Commissions, a Deputy High Commission, 37 Embassies, 2 Permanent Representations to the United Nations, 11 consulates and a representative office. It provides consular assistance to Sri Lankans traveling, working and studying overseas.

Divisions

• General Administration Division
• Overseas Administration Division
• Consular Affairs Division
• Protocol Division
• Public Diplomacy Division
• Economic Affairs Division
• Finance Division
• IT Division
• Legal Division
• United Nations and Multilateral Affairs Division
• South Asia and SAARC Division
• Middle East and Africa Division
• Europe, Americas and CIS Division
• East Asia and Pacific Division

Ministers of Foreign Affairs

Secretaries to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Informally referred to as the Foreign Secretary.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (September 2017)

• W. T. Jayasinghe, SLAS (1977-1989)
• Bernard Tilakaratna, SLOS (1989-1994)
• Rodney Vandergert, SLOS (1994-1997)
• Wilhelm Woutersz, SLOS (1997-1999)
• Lionel Fernando, SLAS
• G. Wijesiri, SLOS
• Nihal Rodrigo, SLOS
• B. A. B. Goonetilleke, SLOS
• H. M. G. S. Palihakkara, SLOS
• Dr. Palitha T.B. Kohona
• Karunatilaka Amunugama, SLOS
• Kshenuka Seneviratne, SLOS
• Esala Weerakoon, SLOS
• Prasad Kariyawasam, SLOS
• Ravinatha Aryasinha, SLOS
• Jayanath Colombage, SLOS
• Aruni Wijewardane
• Aruni Ranaraja

See also

• Foreign relations of Sri Lanka
• Ministries of Sri Lanka

References

1. "Organizations". gic.gov.lk. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
2. "Foreign ministry launches contact Sri Lanka online portal for overseas Sri Lankan's in collaboration with ICTA | Embassy of Srilanka - Paris". srilankaembassy.fr. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
3. "Brief Overview of Sri Lanka's Foreign Relations to Post-Independence – Foreign Ministry – Sri Lanka". Retrieved 2021-09-09.
4. Venugopal, Rajesh. "The Politics of Market Reform at a Time of Ethnic Conflict: Sri Lanka in the Jayewardene Years" (PDF).
5. "Former Foreign Ministers". MFA.gov.lk. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
6. Bandara, M.H.M.N. (7 October 2007). "Invest further for a fruitful harvest". SundayObserver.lk. Sunday Observer. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
7. Wilhelm Woutersz, BY J. B. Muller

External links

• Government of Sri Lanka
• Official Website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Office at Geneva
• The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies
• A Sri Lankan Diplomatic Success Story in the 18th Century

v t e Foreign relations of Sri Lanka
Africa	Kenya South Africa
Americas	Cuba Mexico United States
Asia	Bangladesh China India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Malaysia Maldives Myanmar Nepal Pakistan Palestine Philippines Turkey
Europe	Denmark Estonia Germany Holy See Hungary Italy Kosovo Portugal Romania Russia Spain Switzerland United Kingdom
Oceania	Australia
Former countries	Soviet Union Yugoslavia
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Minister)	Diplomatic missions of / in Sri Lanka List of heads of missions from Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Overseas Service Foreign policy of S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies
International organizations	United Nations G77 IAEA IMF ISO Commonwealth of Nations NAM (5th Summit) SAARC UNESCO WHO WTO SAEU BIMSTEC
Ministry of Foreign Affairs website

v t e Ministries of Sri Lanka
Culture and education	Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Education
Agriculture, exports, and resources	Agriculture Environment Fisheries Irrigation Plantation Industries Tourism and Lands Water Supply Wildlife and Forest Resources Conservation
Health, employment, and wellbeing	Health Labour and Foreign Employment Sports and Youth Affairs Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment
Law, finance, and politics	Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies Foreign Affairs Industries Justice, Prisons Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Mass Media Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Public Security Trade, Commerce and Food Security
Development and forces	Defence Investment Promotion Ports, Shipping and Aviation Power and Energy Technology Transport and Highways Urban Development and Housing
Defunct	Civil Aviation Education Services External Affairs and Defence Highways, Ports & Shipping Indigenous Medicine Mass Media Muslim Religious Affairs Parliamentary Affairs
Government of Sri Lanka Cabinet

• Government ministries of Sri Lanka
• Foreign relations of Sri Lanka
• Foreign affairs ministries
• Ministries established in 1948