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Mr. Esala Weerakoon, Secretary-General Designate to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), visited LKI for a discussion on South Asia with Dr. Ganeshan Wignaraja, Executive Director of LKI. The topics covered included the outlook for South Asia, economic and political prospects for the region, emerging challenges, and the role of regional institutions like SAARC and others.
The former Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka will assume office on 1st March 2020 as the 14th Secretary-General of SAARC. The SAARC Secretariat is based in Kathmandu, Nepal and its eight members are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Mr. Weerakoon was the Senior Additional Secretary to the President of Sri Lanka. Previously, he has served as High Commissioner to India and Ambassador to Norway. His foreign postings include assignments as Actg. High Commissioner to Seychelles, Deputy High Commissioner in Sri Lanka’s High Commission in Canberra, and Deputy Chief of Mission in Sri Lanka’s Embassy in Washington DC.
He has also served in Sri Lanka’s Missions in the United Kingdom, Japan, Malaysia, and France. Apart from serving in different Divisions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he has worked as Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Housing and Samurdhi.
