Rakesh Ramanlal Shah Appointed as Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Gujarat
New Delhi [India], July 8: Rakesh Ramanlal Shah, the Chairman and Managing Director of GSEC Ltd, has been appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka as the Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad. His consular jurisdiction will cover the State of Gujarat. He received his Commission of Appointment from Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to India, Kshenuka Senewiratne.
In a post on X, the Sri Lankan High Commission in India announced, “Rakesh Ramanlal Shah, Chairman & Managing Director GSEC Ltd, appointed by the GOSL as the Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad with consular jurisdiction covering the State of Gujarat, received his Commission of Appointment today (08/07) from HC.”
Sri Lanka’s President Thanks India
In June, Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe expressed his gratitude to India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their ongoing support to Sri Lanka. During Jaishankar’s recent visit to Sri Lanka, houses built under the Indian Housing Project in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Matale were inaugurated.
President Wickremesinghe shared on X, “I met Indian Foreign Minister @DrSJaishankar during his official visit to Sri Lanka, marking the first diplomatic exchange between India and Sri Lanka under the new government. We inaugurated houses built under the Indian Housing Project in Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, and Matale. Thanks to @JeevanThondaman and @S_Thondaman for coordinating this project, benefiting the Indian-origin Tamil community.”
Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre
A Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was also formally commissioned, with a main centre in Colombo and a sub-centre in Hambantota. President Wickremesinghe stated, “We also handed over houses from model villages in Colombo and Trincomalee. We formally commissioned the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre, with a main centre in Colombo, a sub-centre in Hambantota, and unmanned installations across Sri Lanka’s coastline.”
He further added, “I thank PM @narendramodi and @DrSJaishankar for their continued support to Sri Lanka.”
Jaishankar’s Visit to Sri Lanka
This visit marked S. Jaishankar’s first bilateral visit as External Affairs Minister after his re-appointment. His visit to Colombo followed Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s recent visit to India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 9. During his visit, Jaishankar met with Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena. They had a one-on-one meeting at the President’s Office, followed by delegation-level talks that included several Sri Lankan ministers.