Assistant High Commission of India, Kandy(Sri Lanka)

Call on by Counsellor (Consular), HCI Colombo accompanied by AHCI Kandy on Venerable Mahanayake Thero of Malwatte Chapter and Venerable Anunayake Thero of Asgiriya Chapter

Assistant High Commission of India

Kandy

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PRESS RELEASE

Subject: Call on by Counsellor (Consular), HCI Colombo accompanied by AHCI Kandy on Venerable Mahanayake Thero of Malwatte Chapter and Venerable Anunayake Thero of Asgiriya Chapter

Mr. Kaushlendra Kumar, Counsellor in charge of Consular affairs at the High Commission of India in Colombo, accompanied by Mr. Raakesh Natraj, Assistant High Commissioner of India in Kandy, called on the Most Venerable Tihibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangalabhidhana Mahanayake Thero of Malwatte Chapter of the Syamopali Maha Nikaya at Malwathu Viharaya on 9 February 2021 to seek his blessings.

Later on the same day, Mr. Kumar and Mr. Natraj called on the Anunayake of the Asgiriya Chapter, Venerable Vedaruwe Upali Thero at his abode in the Asgiri Temple.

The Venerable Mahanayake Thero welcomed Mr. Kumar, who has assumed charge in the recent past, to Sri Lanka and thanked India for the consignment of 500,000 doses of COVISHEILD vaccines that arrived in Colombo on the auspicious Duruthu Poya Day last month. The Venerable Anunayake Thero too conveyed the gratitude of Sri Lankan people to the Indian Government for the gesture of providing the vaccines during the country’s time of need, adding that the two countries were bound by common cultural, historic and religious heritage stretching back for thousands of years.

Mr. Natraj briefed the Most Venerable Mahanayake Thero as well as the Venerable Anunayake Thero in detail about Government of India’s Grant of USD 15 Million for enhancement of Buddhist ties between the two counties as well as the status of completion of the Kandyan Dance Academy at SriLanka International Buddhist Academy (SIBA), Pallekele which is being constructed with grant assistance from India.

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Kandy

9 February 2021