Permanent Delegate of Sri Lanka to UNESCO Presents Credentials to Director-General of UNESCO

Sri Lanka's Permanent Delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Sugeeshwara Gunaratna, presented his Letter of Credence to the Director-General of UNESCO, Khaled El-Enany, on Tuesday, 28 July 2026 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The ceremony entailed the presentation of credentials followed by a meeting with the Director-General.

At the meeting, Ambassador Gunaratna congratulated the Director-General on his assumption of office and welcomed his vision of "UNESCO for the People" and the UNESCO80 reform agenda. The Ambassador also conveyed appreciation for UNESCO's solidarity following Cyclone Ditwah, including support extended for hydrological risk assessment, documentary heritage, continuity of education, and psychosocial care.

Recalling over 75 years of partnership between Sri Lanka and UNESCO, Ambassador Gunaratna reaffirmed Sri Lanka's constructive engagement on the Executive Board and other governing bodies.

Ambassador Gunaratna highlighted Sri Lanka's continued cooperation with UNESCO for the preservation of culture and heritage, underlining the International Expert Conference on Anuradhapura and follow-up activities. In education, the discussion referred to Sri Lanka’s tenure at the SDG 4-Education 2030 High-Level Steering Committee beginning in January 2027 and the need for strengthening linkages between UNESCO and the South Asian Centre for Teacher Development (SACTD), the only UNESCO Category 2 Centre dedicated to teacher development in South Asia whose status was recently renewed for a further eight years. Ambassador Gunaratna also underscored Sri Lanka's interest in deepening cooperation on water security and integrated water resources management, as well as on artificial intelligence governance and digital transformation.

The Ambassador conveyed an invitation to the Director-General to undertake an official visit to Sri Lanka in the early part of his tenure, recalling the tradition of visits by previous Directors-General.

Director-General El-Enany welcomed Sri Lanka's strong and abiding ties with UNESCO as a testimony to the enduring significance of the Organization to its Member States, and expressed appreciation for Sri Lanka's valued contribution and continued commitment to UNESCO's mandate and priorities.

Ambassador Gunaratna also holds the post of the Ambassador-designate of Sri Lanka to France with concurrent accreditation to Spain, Portugal, Monaco and Andorra. He is a career diplomat with 26 years in the Sri Lanka Foreign Service.

Embassy of Sri Lanka and

Permanent Delegation of Sri Lanka to UNESCO

Paris

28 July 2026