Mr. Thushara Rodrigo is the Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKI). He is a career diplomat in the Sri Lanka Foreign Service (SLFS), having joined in 2003, and currently holds the rank of Class 1 Officer.
In addition to his role as Executive Director of LKI, Mr. Rodrigo serves as the Director General of International Security Cooperation and Public Diplomacy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as the Director General of the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute (BIDTI).
Throughout his distinguished diplomatic career spanning over two decades, Mr. Rodrigo has served in Sri Lankan diplomatic missions in Vietnam, India, the United States, and Canada, as well as in various capacities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Colombo.
As Consul General in Toronto, Mr. Rodrigo was responsible for promoting trade, investment, and tourism between Sri Lanka and Canada. He engaged constructively with the consular corps in Toronto through informal dialogues and collective discussions on contemporary international affairs. He provided overall supervision of the administrative, financial, human resources, and operational aspects of the Consulate General. He also engaged with the Sri Lankan diaspora in Toronto to promote political, social, economic, and cultural cooperation, and maintained constructive relations with mayors and city councilors in the Greater Toronto Area. He monitored foreign policy perspectives of Canada and academic dialogues at leading Canadian think tanks including the C.D. Howe Institute, Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
As Chief of Protocol, Mr. Rodrigo worked for two consecutive Heads of State of Sri Lanka, holding major responsibilities in organizing State visits for both Presidents. He coordinated their engagements with the diplomatic corps in Sri Lanka and accompanied the Head of State on key international visits, including the State visit to Japan in October 2019, to India in November 2019, to the United Nations General Assembly in September 2021, to the World Leaders’ Summit in Scotland in November 2021, and to the Indian Ocean Conference in Dubai in 2021. He also handled numerous incoming State and high-level official visits to Sri Lanka by foreign dignitaries, including the visit of the United States Secretary of State, and organized high-level diplomatic functions and ceremonies in Sri Lanka.
In Washington D.C., Mr. Rodrigo provided overall supervision of the administrative, financial, human resources, and operational aspects of the Embassy. He served as the Point of Contact for the Embassy to the U.S. Department of State on administration and human resources matters. He held major responsibilities in handling Sri Lanka’s engagements with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Headquarters, representing Sri Lanka in official delegations to the Spring Meetings and Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank from 2015 to 2019.
He sustained constructive engagement with the Sri Lankan diaspora community in the United States to promote Sri Lanka’s socio-economic, cultural, and political interests. He monitored academic dialogues of leading U.S. think tanks based in Washington D.C., including the Heritage Foundation, International Republican Institute, National Endowment for Democracy, and The Brookings Institution, with particular focus on developments in the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) framework.
As Deputy Chief of Protocol, Mr. Rodrigo worked as a leading member of the organizing committee of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Sri Lanka in 2013, closely collaborating with the Commonwealth Secretariat. He organized numerous State and high-level official visits, including the visits of the U.S. Secretary of State, the Prime Minister of India, the Prime Minister of Japan, the Prime Minister of China, and His Holiness Pope Francis to Sri Lanka in 2015.
In this role, Mr. Rodrigo assisted the Chief of Protocol in planning the operational aspects of State and official visits of foreign dignitaries, international conferences, and summits held in Sri Lanka, as well as diplomatic functions and ceremonies.
In Mumbai, Mr. Rodrigo promoted trade, investment, and tourism between Sri Lanka and India, engaged with the consular corps, and provided overall supervision of the Consulate General’s operations. He conducted research on bilateral trade and investment opportunities and analyzed India’s bilateral and regional foreign policy perspectives.
In Vietnam, Mr. Rodrigo supervised the Embassy’s administrative, financial, and operational aspects. He conducted research on bilateral trade and investment, organized trade delegations between Sri Lanka and Vietnam, and analyzed Vietnam’s foreign policy perspectives.
Mr. Rodrigo began his diplomatic career in this role, conducting research on Sri Lanka’s engagements with the United Nations and preparing for Sri Lanka’s participation in the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2005. He represented Sri Lanka at the UN General Assembly as a member of the Presidential delegation.
Mr. Rodrigo earned a Master’s degree in Conflict and Peace Studies from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 2020, with a thesis titled “Free and Open Indo-Pacific and Conflict Free Indian Ocean.” He also completed a diplomatic training programme conducted by the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies of the University of Defence in Washington D.C. in 2018 and is a member of the NESA Center Alumni Community. He earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree with Second Class from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, in 1996.
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A think tank engaging in independent research of Sri Lanka’s international relations and strategic interests, to provide insights and recommendations that advance justice, peace, prosperity, and sustainability.
