Mr. Ravinatha Aryasinha

Mr. Aryasinha started his professional life in 1981 as a journalist at the Ceylon Daily News and was a pioneer in the setting up of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation, where he served as Senior Political Correspondent from 1982-88 before he became a member of the Sri Lanka Foreign Service. On leave from the Sri Lanka Foreign Service, from 1993-1995, he also served as the National Information Officer in the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka. Before joining the Foreign Service, Mr. Aryasinha served as the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the USA, Sri Lanka’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, and Consul General of Sri Lanka to Switzerland, with concurrent accreditation as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the Holy See, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg and to the European Union. Previously he was the Deputy Chief of Mission with Ambassador Rank in the Sri Lanka Embassy in the USA and Second Secretary in the Sri Lanka High Commission in India. In the Foreign Ministry, from 1995-2000, and again from March 2007-March 2008 he headed the Public Diplomacy Division and was the Foreign Ministry Spokesman. Ambassador Aryasinha was the Foreign Secretary of Sri Lanka from October 2018 to August 2020. Mr. Aryasinha holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from the University of Peradeniya in 1984 and a Master of Arts Degree in International Relations from the University of Colombo. A ‘Hurst Fellow’ in International Relations at the School of International Service, American University, Ambassador Aryasinha is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in International Relations at the University of Colombo. He is also on the visiting faculty of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University and the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies.