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Ambassador Malraj de Silva presents credentials to UAE
Ambassador Malraj de Silva presented Letters of Credence to Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum at the Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace, Sri Lankan Embassy in Abu Dhabi said.
The presentation of credentials was followed by a courtesy call on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during which the Ambassador conveyed greetings from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa and the People of Sri Lanka to President of UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, all the other rulers and the People of the United Arab Emirates.
During the courtesy call the Ambassador mentioned that Sri Lanka – United Arab Emirates friendly relations have grown exponentially covering a multitude of areas with mutual benefits and he also stated that Sri Lanka hopes to further uplift the existing bilateral relations to the best friend status. Speaker of Federal National Council Saqr Ghobash, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan also attended the Credential ceremony
Following the credential ceremony a reception was held at the “Sri Lanka House” the Official Residence of the Ambassador for business leaders, bankers, entrepreneurs, Sri Lankan Community and Embassy and Consulate staff.
Ambassador, Malraj De Silva is a career administrator in various capacities. His primary and secondary education was completed at Ananda College, Colombo, graduated as a Civil Engineer, completed Electrical Engineering from Council of Engineering Institutions (England) and Building Official from International Conference of Building Officials (USA). He was directly enlisted to Sri Lanka Army Engineering Corps, Area Quantity Surveyor in charge of all construction activities in Northern Palace in Sultanate of Oman and became the Supervising Manager for the Construction Inspection Department of Construction Management Unit of Los Angeles County Development Authority prior to becoming the Ambassador. He was appointed as the Consul General of Los Angeles and Eight Western States of the United States of America. He is married to Ranjanie De Silva, having three children and four grandchildren.
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Payment of Compensation to the people who have lost their cultivable lands in implementing the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project
Approval has been granted at the Cabinet meeting held on 27-06-2012 to provide cultivable agricultural lands from the lower Uma Oya valley to 276 farming families in Hali-Ela, Walimada, and Uva Paranagama Divisional Secretariat Divisions who have lost their cultivable lands due to the acquisition of lands for the
Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project.
However, the aforementioned proposal could not be implemented due to the encroachment of a large portion of the identified lands by unauthorized persons, heavy forest cover, the threats posed by wild elephants, remoteness from their original settlements, and difficulties in adapting to other environmental conditions and social anomalies.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation to pay an estimated compensation of Rs. 12 lakhs for each of these 276 farming families, based on the
recommendations submitted by the Cabinet Sub-Committee appointed to provide solutions for the issues arising in the implementation of the Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project.
News
Draft Bill of the Chartered Institute of Media Professionals of Sri Lanka to be Gazzated
Policy approval was granted at the Cabinet meeting held on 07.04.2025 to prepare a draft bill to establish the Chartered Institute of Media Professionals of Sri Lanka in order to accomplish the requirement of a training institution to carry out studies in order to create chartered media professionals and mould intelligent media personalities with skills in order to enhance the quality and standard of the media society.
Clearance of the Attorney General has been received for the final draft prepared by the Legal Draftsman for the purpose.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Health and Mass Media to publish the draft bill of Chartered Institute of Media Professionals of Sri Lanka in the Government Gazette Notification and thereafter submit the same for the concurrence of the House.
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Telecommunication Levy Act No. 21 of 2011 to be amended
The Telecommunication Levy Act No. 21 of 2011 has enabled provisions to impose telecommunication levy. The budget 2026 has proposed to introduce amendments for the act including changes imposed from time to time regarding the telecommunication levy.
Accordingly, the Legal Draftsman has formulated a draft bill for
amending the Telecommunication Levy Act No. 21 of 2011 including provisions to extend applicable to envisage all the tax amounts applicable from the year 2015 along with the telecommunication levy existing at present, applicable of taxes on unrecovered revenue (bad debts) and to extend the provisions of that act to cater the telecommunication suppliers.
The Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to publish the said draft bill in the Government Gazette Notification and subsequently to submit the same for the concurrence of the House.
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