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‘Only 3 officials went with President to UK’

21 Sep 2022

  • PMD says only Secy, Int’l Director, and doctor flew on State funds
  • Prez holds conversation with King Charles III
President Ranil Wickremesinghe was accompanied on his trip to the UK for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral only by the Private Secretary to the President, President’s Office Director on International Relations, and his official doctor, the President’s Media Division (PMD) said yesterday (20). “It is observed that some Parliamentarians and posts on social media are trying to mislead the public by spreading false and incorrect information about the delegation representing Sri Lanka at the funeral ceremony of Queen Elizabeth II held at Westminster Abbey in Britain. Based on the official invitation received for this occasion, only Private Secretary to the President Sandra Perera and President’s Office Director on International Relations Dinouk Colombage joined the official delegation along with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe. In addition, the President’s official doctor attended the event,” PMD said in a press release. The release added that First Lady Senior Prof. Maithree Wickramasinghe participated on the tour at her personal expense, while Presidential Advisor on Climate Change and United National Party (UNP) Deputy Leader Ruwan Wijewardene also joined the Sri Lankan Diaspora meeting held yesterday (19) while on a private visit to the UK. It went on to say that Polish President Andrzej Duda and his wife Agatha Kornhauser-Duda, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Indian President Draupadi, Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan, US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden, UK Prime Minister Liz Truss, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, French President Emmanuel Macron with his wife Brigitte Trogneux, and many other Heads of State were in attendance representing other foreign countries on this occasion. Meanwhile, world leaders who were in London to attend the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II had met King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, and President Wickremesinghe, who participated in the event, was pictured having a friendly conversation with King Charles III, the PMD reported yesterday (20).


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