25th International Exhibition – “PRODEXPO” held in Moscow on February 2018.

On February 7, 2018 the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Russia hosted a reception on the occasion of the participation of the Sri Lankan delegation in the 25th International Exhibition for Food, Beverages, and Food Raw Materials “PRODEXPO” held in Moscow on February 5-9, 2018. The event gathered more than 60 representatives of the Sri Lankan and Russian tea trade as well as officials from the relevant Russian government authorities. In the framework of the reception, Mr. Jayantha Karunaratne, Chairman of the Tea Exporters Association of Sri Lanka, addressed the audience and presented a token of appreciation to H. E. Dr. Saman Weerasinghe, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia, highlighting his distinguished and dedicated service, extended to the Sri Lankan tea trade sector while serving as the Head of the Diplomatic Mission in Moscow from September of 2015 to February of 2018.

Furthermore, the evening was marked by the launch of the book “Sri Lanka – Soviet – Russia Relations” written by Mr. Sirimanna Karunatillake who first visited Russia in 1973 and held different portfolios in several associations and organizations aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Russia. He functioned as the Deputy General Secretary of the Sri Lanka – Russia Soviet Friendship League in 1978-1990 and served as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Soviet Cultural Centre in Colombo in 1987-1989. At present, Mr. Karunatillake is the Coordinating Secretary of the Russian Literary Circle and the Administrative Secretary of the Sri Lanka – Russia Friendship Society. While addressing the esteemed guests, H. E. Dr. Saman Weerasinghe briefly described the Ceylon tea promotion activities carried out by the Embassy in the last few years and expressed his gratitude to the Sri Lankan tea trade delegates participating in the PRODEXPO Exhibition for their interest in expanding the Sri Lanka – Russia economic cooperation on the corporate business level by exploring the Russian market and diversifying their pools of contacts, comprising Russian distribution companies, tea importers, and retail chains.