Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam assumed duties at the Embassy of Sri Lanka to United States at Washington D.C. on June 23, 2014. President Obama is scheduled to receive Ambassador Kariyawasam on July 14, 2014 at the Oval Office of the White House at a Ceremony accepting the Credentials of the new Sri Lankan envoy.
Ambassador Kariyawasam joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1981 and has held variety of diplomatic assignments including as the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to India, Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in New York as well.
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Kariyawasam, Ambassador (designate) for Sri Lanka to United States of America, joined the Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1981 and has held diplomatic assignments in Geneva (1983-1987), Riyadh (1989-1992), Washington (1995-1998), New Delhi (1998-2001), Geneva (2001-2004), New York (2005-2008) and New Delhi (2009 - 2014).
In his last assignment as the High Commissioner for Sri Lanka to India in Delhi he was concurrently accredited as the Ambassador for Sri Lanka to Bhutan and Afghanistan. From 1998 to 2001 he served as the Deputy High Commissioner for Sri Lanka in India, holding the rank of an Ambassador. In Geneva, from 2001 to 2004 he served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, while also holding the positions of Consul General of Sri Lanka to Switzerland, Personal Representative of the Head of State of Sri Lanka to the G-15 and concurrently accredited Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Holy See in the Vatican.
In recognition as the envoy of Sri Lanka to Vatican His Holiness Pope John Paul II bestowed the insignia of the “Grand-Cross of the order of Saint Gregory the Great” to Ambassador Kariyawasam. In New York, he served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations and was concurrently accredited as the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Jamaica and The Bahamas, as well as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Chile and Colombia.
At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he had assignments in the Divisions of United Nations and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Political Affairs, Administration, Economic Affairs and as the Special Assistant to the Foreign Secretary. He also held the post of Director of the South Asia Division and was the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capacity of Director of Publicity. Prior to his assignment to New York as Ambassador he held the position of Director General of the Economic Affairs Division and served as an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to his posting in New Delhi he was also an Additional Secretary in the Ministry in charge of Multilateral Affairs, South Asia and Administration.
