Udayana Kirindigoda, Member of Parliament, was appointed as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka – Italy Parliamentary Friendship Association recently (11).
The meeting to elect the office bearers of the Sri Lanka – Italy Parliamentary Friendship Association for the Ninth Parliament was held at the Parliament under the chairmanship of the Speaker Hon. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana. Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Mr. Damiano Francovigh participated as the chief guest in the meeting while Ministers, State Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Secretary General of Parliament Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera were present at the occasion.
State Minister Arvind Kumar, Members of Parliament Velu Kumar and B.Y.G. Mr. Ratnasekara were appointed as Vice Presidents of the Friendship Association. Hector Appuhamy was appointed as Secretary of the association while Mohomad Muzammil was appointed as Assistant Secretary and Karunadasa Kodithuwakku was appointed as the Treasurer.
Addressing the occasion, the Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana stated that the establishment of the Sri Lanka – Italy Parliamentary Friendship Association will lead to the further development of the long-term relationship between Sri Lanka and Italy. Also, the Speaker expressed his gratitude for the support given to Sri Lanka in 2017 regarding the re-establishment of the GSP+ facility and the support provided by Italy in relation to the lifting of the fish export ban imposed on Sri Lanka.
Mr. Damiano Francovigh, the Italian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, who addressed the occasion, said that he hopes to attract new investors from Italy to make new investments in Sri Lanka while further developing the existing trade and investment relations between Sri Lanka and Italy.
Udayana Kirindigoda, Member of Parliament, the current Chairman of the Sri Lanka – Italy Parliamentary Friendship Association, who spoke at the event, expressed his gratitude for being elected as the Chairman of the Association. He also stated that he is looking forward to working for the further development of bilateral relations between Italy and Sri Lanka.