Media Release
The Ambassador of Sri Lanka, Rekha Gunasekera presented the Letter of Credence to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on 26th June 2024 at an elegant ceremony held at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague.
The ceremony began with a carriage procession, where the Ambassador was escorted by the Royal Chamberlain from the Embassy of Sri Lanka to the Palace in the traditional horse drawn state carriage. On arrival at the forecourt of Noordeinde Palace, the Ambassador inspected the Guard of Honour after the playing of the National Anthem of Sri Lanka by the Military Band. The Ambassador was received at the Palace by the Grand Master of the Royal Household, where she signed the Visitors Book.
Ambassador Gunasekera presented the Letter of Credence, accrediting her as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, after which His Majesty invited the Ambassador for a discussion. During the discussion, Ambassador Gunasekera conveyed to His Majesty the greetings and best wishes from President Ranil Wickremesinghe, which was warmly reciprocated by His Majesty the King. A range of topics in relation to Sri Lanka – Netherlands bilateral relations were also discussed.
After the Presentation of Credentials a simple reception was held at the Embassy premises with the participation of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, and Dutch institutions such as the Rijks Museum, the National Archives of the Netherlands , the Cultural Heritage Agency, Programma Uitzending Managers (PUM), the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO),and the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC). The Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka also attended the event.
Ambassador Rekha Gunasekera is a career diplomat with over 22 years of experience in both bilateral and multilateral affairs and has previously served in a number of Sri Lanka Missions including New York, Geneva, Beijing, and London. Prior to her present assignment, Ambassador Gunasekera served as the Director General for the United Nations and Human Rights Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She is a graduate from the University of Colombo with First Class Honours (BSc) and has a MA in International Relations from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
The Hague
28 June 2024
