Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Kingdom of the Netherlands Rekha Gunasekera presented the letter of Credence to King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands on 26 June 2024 at an elegant ceremony held at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague.
The ceremony began with a carriage procession, where the Ambassador was escorted by the Royal Chamberlain from the Embassy of Sri Lanka to the Palace in the traditional horse-drawn state carriage. On arrival at the forecourt of Noordeinde Palace, the Ambassador inspected the Guard of Honour after the Military Band played the National Anthem of Sri Lanka. The Ambassador was received at the Palace by the Grand Master of the Royal Household, where she signed the visitors’ book.
After presenting her letter of Credence, Ambassador Gunasekera was invited for a discussion with King Willem-Alexander. During the discussion, Ambassador Gunasekera conveyed to the monarch the greetings and best wishes from President Ranil Wickremesinghe, which were warmly reciprocated by King Willem-Alexander. They also discussed a range of topics in relation to Sri Lanka – Netherlands bilateral relations.
A simple reception was held at the Embassy premises with the participation of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, and Dutch institutions such as the Rijks Museum, the National Archives of the Netherlands, the Cultural Heritage Agency, Programma Uitzending Managers (PUM), the Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland (RVO),and the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC). The Honorary Consul for Sri Lanka also participated in the event.
Ambassador Rekha Gunasekera is a career diplomat with over 22 years of experience in both bilateral and multilateral affairs and has previously served in a number of Sri Lanka Missions including New York, Geneva, Beijing, and London. Prior to her present assignment, Ambassador Gunasekera served as the Director General for the United Nations and Human Rights Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka. She is a graduate from the University of Colombo with First Class Honours (BSc) and has a MA in International Relations from the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
