New Lankan HC to Australia assumes duties

Addressing the staff following the assumption of duties, High Commissioner-designate Gunasekera outlined the priorities of the Government of Sri Lanka and noted the long-standing and friendly relations between Sri Lanka and Australia, as well as the way forward to strengthen bilateral ties between the two nations.

She emphasized the need to intensify the promotion of tourism, trade and investment between the two countries and strengthen people-to-people ties. The High Commissioner-designate also highlighted the importance of ensuring the seamless delivery of consular services. She underscored the well-being of the Sri Lankan community in Australia as a top priority. She also reiterated the importance of collective efforts by the entire Mission in achieving these objectives.

According to the Sri Lankan High Commission in Canberra, a career Sri Lanka Foreign Service Officer with over 29 years of experience, Gunasekera topped the Sri Lanka Foreign Service Batch of 1996 and has served in various capacities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, the most recent being as the Additional Secretary for East Asia; Middle East and Africa. She has served as Ambassador to Jakarta, Indonesia and High Commissioner to Dhaka, Bangladesh and established the Consulate General of Sri Lanka in Guangzhou, China. She also served at Sri Lanka Missions in New Delhi, India and in New York and Washington D.C. in the United States of America.

High Commissioner-designate Gunasekera holds a Master’s degree in Foreign Affairs and Trade from Monash University, Australia and an LLB Degree in Law from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. She is a past pupil of C.M.S. Ladies’ College, Colombo.