The services of 30 Sri Lankan Ambassadors including to Norway and High Commissioners have been terminated and they have been recalled by the Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Ministry.
In 2018, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s decision to appoint an Australian resident with Sri Lankan citizenship as Ambassador to Norway has raised eyebrows among Sri Lankan MFA officials. Arusha Cooray is currently serving as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Norway, Finland and Iceland.
Sri Lankan New Foreign Affairs Minister Dinesh Gunawardena had notified them in writing yesterday (05) notifying them to return to the country by December 30th.
These political appointments had been made by the previous regime under UNP-SLFP.
It is also reported that an investigation would be held to determine if these Ambassadors/ High Commissioners had performed their duties properly during their service period.
The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister also hopes to make new appointments to these vacancies prior to the end of January.
Arusha Cooray is Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Norway, Finland, and Iceland. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and an MA (economics) and BA (economics) from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She has lectured at the University of New South Wales, University of Sydney, Victoria University, University of Wollongong, University of Tasmania, Macquarie University, University of Colombo, and held a professorship in economics at the University of Nottingham Malaysia. Arusha has held visiting positions at the University of Oxford, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development, University of Gottingen, Australian National University, and Macquarie University.
Arusha is a fellow of the Centre for Poverty Analysis Sri Lanka and Centre for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis, Australian National University. Arusha has undertaken research on several issues and has published widely in academic journals including the Journal of Macroeconomics, Macroeconomic Dynamics, Oxford Economic Papers, Public Choice, among others. She has additionally been a consultant for international, governmental and private organizations and has contributed to economic debates with newspapers, research institutes, and banks.
