H.E. Ambassador Karunatilaka Amunugama had a meeting with the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Mr. Klaus Wowereit, at the Senate Administration of Berlin recently. Governing Mayor Wowereit welcomed the new Sri Lankan Ambassador to his city and wished him all the best for his tour of duty in Germany.
The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Germany, Karunatilaka Amunugama, has organized a Sri Lankan evening with the CTOUR in Berlin and Brandenburg on 24th September 2014 at his official residence in order to give the participants a real taste of Sri Lanka and to motivate them to give publicity to Sri Lanka as a unique destination for tourism. CTOUR is the association of travel journalists from Berlin and Brandenburg. Mr. Kaushal Senevirathne, Director Europe and North America of SriLankan Airlines, Maria Schledder, Sales Manager of Sri Lankan Airlines, Mr. Chalinda Samarasinghe, Director (Europe) of Siddhalepa, Mr. Grafenstein, a good friend of Sri Lanka and the person who initiated this event, and Ms. Sabine Eckhard, a film producer, joined the Embassy for a successful presentation of Sri Lanka to the participants of the event.
Sri Lankan Ambassador Karunatilaka Amunugama extended an invitation to the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Dr. Gerd Mueller to visit Sri Lanka and thanked for the assistance extended by his Government.
Sri Lanka Ambassador Karunatilaka Amunugama has flagged off a motorcycle journey led by Feros Omar of Brandix Lanka Ltd from Brandenburg Gate, Berlin to Battaramulla, Colombo this morning. Feros Omar is accompanied by his wife Amina Omar as pillion rider.
The other Sri Lankan riders are Major Nalaka Buddhadasa, former Sri Lankan Army Major currently employed in the private sector, and Captain Kshmendra Weeratunga, a senior Captain and Flight Instructor of National Carrier Sri Lankan Air Lines. Foreign Riders are Nicholas Wilkinson, a British national, and Stephan Pietro, a German national, who is keen on motorcycle riding and co-founder of the former Ducati Berlin agent.
Under the guidance of Ministry of Economic Development, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau has launched an International Tourism Promotional campaign in order to increase awareness of destination Sri Lanka in countries around the world including Germany.
After having launched the promotion campaign with 75 branded taxis in Berlin, Ambassador Amunugama launched a new advertisement campaign on buses in Berlin on 8 September 2014. Six buses of Berlin's bus transport company BVG were branded with advertisements of Sri Lanka Tourism.
The newly arrived Sri Lankan Ambassador Karunatilaka Amunugama has recently paid courtesy calls on the Minister / Deputy Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Konrad Arz von Straussenburg, the Director General for Asia and Pacific Affairs, Ambassador Peter Prügel, the Chief of Staff and the Head of the Minister's office, Ambassador Jens Plötner, the Head of the South Asia Division, Heike Dettmann, and the Desk Officer of the South Asia Division, Fabian Richter, at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin.
The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Berlin showcased the distinctive diversity, compactness and the rich cultural heritage of Sri Lanka and promoted Sri Lanka as a destination for tourism, trade and investment at the event ''Open Day'' under the slogan of ''Future Charter – One World, One Responsibility'' organised by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) of Germany on 31st August 2014.