ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Romania Madurika Joseph Weninger presented letters of credence to President Klaus-Werner Iohannis at the historic Cotroceni Palace in Bucharest.
President Iohannis expressed optimism for future collaborations, the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Bucharest said in a statement.
In a discussion afterwards Ambassador Weninger recalled the long-standing friendship with Romania since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1957, and emphasized that bilateral relations have seen growth across various domains, enhancing cooperation in numerous sectors.
The discussion focused on strengthening and expanding relations between the two countries, especially in economic, trade, investment, and tourism sectors.
Romania provides employment for over 40,000 Sri Lankan nationals across various sectors, including apparel, construction, hospitality, and agriculture.
Madurika Weninger joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service (SLFS) in 1998 and served as the Consul General of Sri Lanka in Frankfurt, Germany.
She held the position of Additional Secretary, Ocean Affairs, Environment and Climate Change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka.
She served as the Director General, Economic Affairs, Director General, Africa Affairs, Director of the Americas and Europe Division, Director of the Middle East Division, and Director of the Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka.
Her previous diplomatic assignments entailed as Minister/Deputy Chief of Mission in the Sri Lanka Embassy in Austria and the Permanent Mission to the UN in Vienna, the Sri Lanka Embassy and Permanent Mission of Italy and later in the United Arab Emirates as Counsellor/Head of Chancery.
She served as a member of the Sri Lanka delegation to the Board Governors Meetings of the IAEA, Vienna in 2005 & 2013 to 2016. Served as a Member of the Advisory Group to the CTBTO, Vienna from 2014 to 2016.
Her academic credentials include a Masters Degree in Advanced International Relations (MA) from the University of Vienna Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Austria, a Post Graduate Diploma in International Relations from the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies (BCIS), in Sri Lanka and a Bachelor’s Degree in Arts (BA) from the University of Kelaniya. (Colombo/Sep20/2024)