French style, Lankan smile

Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Paris Karunaratne Hangawatte hosted a reception at the embassy for French guests from several regions and organisations in France.

Among them were frequent travellers to Sri Lanka, businessmen, investors, government officials, artistes and contributors to charity and social advancement, all of them united by their desire to lend a helping hand to Sri Lanka.

Hangawatte thanked French philanthropists for their dedication to Sri Lanka, notably with programmes such as adoption of destitute children, building orphanages, rebuilding homes for tsunami victims and offering scholarships for children.

The ambassador acknowledged their interest in the advancement and practice of cultural awareness about Sri Lanka.

He thanked them for their close collaboration with government and non-governmental programmes such as nutritional funding centres for youths and professional training centres.

Reiterating the significance of the long-standing collaborative ties between France and Sri Lanka over the past decades, Hangawatte disclosed his wish to revive the group 'Friends of Sri Lanka'.

Inviting guests to join in this new venture, Ambassador Hangawatte disclosed his intentions of promoting investment, commerce, trade and tourism between the two countries in addition to promoting political and cultural relations.

Having expressed their pleasure and gratitude for the efforts undertaken by the ambassador to felicitate their participation in various sectors of development in Sri Lanka, the invitees shared their past experiences in Sri Lanka.

They described their love for the country, the kindness and friendliness of the people they met and the strong ties they developed at each visit.

A video presentation was projected which displayed the social and economic growth of Sri Lanka over the past five years and projections for the next 10 years. The guests enjoyed Sri Lankan traditional cuisine.

Expanding his appreciation to the invitees for their involvement in Sri Lanka through investment, commerce, trade and tourism, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Sri Lanka to UNESCO, Professor Hangawatte invited the gathering to patronise the Sri Lankan cultural events projected for 2013 and 2014 at UNESCO.