Her Excellency Sam Mostyn AC, Governor-General of Australia, paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya at Temple Trees on 7 August 2025.

The meeting provided a meaningful opportunity to reaffirm the longstanding and friendly relations between Sri Lanka and Australia. The Prime Minister welcomed the Governor-General and highlighted the importance of building stronger cooperation between the two countries, especially in the areas of politics, the economy, and sports. She also shared an update on the ongoing education reforms in Sri Lanka aimed at improving access and quality.

The Governor-General spoke about Australia’s education system and expressed interest in working more closely together in this area. Both sides also had a productive discussion on the importance of increasing women’s participation and leadership in politics, reflecting their shared commitment to gender equality.

The Governor-General assured Australia’s continued support for Sri Lanka’s development and mentioned the potential for expanding cooperation in several other fields.

Senior officials from both sides attended the meeting. The Australian delegation included Mr. Gerard Martin PSM, Official Secretary to the Governor-General; H.E. Paul Stephens, High Commissioner of Australia to Sri Lanka; Ms. Jamie Thanjan, Aide-de-Camp, Royal Australian Air Force; Ms. Lalita Kapur, Deputy High Commissioner; and Dr. Paul Zeccola, First Secretary of the Australian High Commission in Colombo.The Sri Lankan delegation included Mr. Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Prime Minister; Ms. Sagarika Bogahawatta, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister; Ms. Ruwanthi Delpitiya, Director General; and Mr. Dhawood Amanullah, Director, East Asia Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Implement educational reforms that can develop sectors such as fisheries and agriculture, and produce entrepreneurs with specialized knowledge in those fields. – His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the objectives of the educational reforms include fostering moral values in children, guiding those who deviate from school education towards vocational training, and thereby ensuring their contribution to the country’s economic development.

A special discussion to raise awareness about the educational reforms scheduled to be implemented from 2026 was held on July 07 at the Archbishop’s official residence in Colombo, with the participation of His Eminence Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, senior bishops, and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya.

During the meeting, a comprehensive explanation of the educational reforms was presented by the Prime Minister and the Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Mr. Nalaka Kalubewa.

Special attention was given to how the new reforms would establish, within schools themselves, the foundation for producing specialists in sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, electrical engineering, and automobile repair fields that many children may not have opportunities to enter in traditionally recognized professions while highlighting the value of those industries.

The discussion also covered the importance of selecting subject experts when filling teacher vacancies, formalizing the selection process, and identifying measures to provide a high-quality education to all children.

This occasion was attended by His Eminence Harold Anthony, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka, along with other bishops.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

අග්‍රාමාත්‍යවරිය සහ සමස්ත ලංකා ශාසනාරක්ෂක බලමණ්ඩලයේ සභාපති මහාචාර්ය පුජ්‍ය තුඹුල්ලේ සීලක්ඛන්ද නායක ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේ ඇතුළු ස්වාමීන්වහන්සේලා සමඟ වන සාකච්ඡාවක් අරලියගහ මන්දිරයේදී පැවැත්විණි.

දහම් පාසල් මේ වන විට මුහුණ දෙන අභියෝග සහ ගැටලු ගනණාවක් පිළිබඳව මෙහිදී අවධානය යොමු විය.

ඉරිදා සහ පොහොය දිනවල උපකාරක පන්ති නතර කිරීම, දහම් පාසල් විභාග සහ තරග පැවැත්වෙන දිනවල පාසල් විභාග සහ ක්‍රිඩා තරග නොපැවැත්වීම, දහම් පාසල් ගුරු හිඟයට පිළියම් යෙදීම, දහම් පාසල් මුහුණ දෙන උපකරණ සහ ඉගෙනුම් මෙවලම් සපයා ගැනීම, විශ්වවිද්‍යාල සඳහා ඇතුළත් කිරීමේදී දහමි පාසල් ධර්මාචාර්ය සමත් දරුවන් හට විශේෂ ලකුණක් ලබා දීම, දහම් පාසල් අධ්‍යාපනය ක්‍රමවත් හා වටිනා කමක් සහිත අධ්‍යාපනයක් ලෙස ⁣තවදුරටත් සංවර්ධනය කිරීම ආදී අවශ්‍යතා කෙරෙහි මෙහිදී විශේෂ අවධානයක් යොමු විය.

මෙම අවස්ථාවට සමස්ත ලංකා ශාසනාරක්ෂක බලමණ්ඩලයේ මහා ලේඛකාධිකාරී මුගුණුවෙල අනුරුද්ධ නායක ස්වාමීන් වහන්සේ ඇතුළු සංඝරත්නය, බුද්ධ ශාසන, ආගමික සහ සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු නියෝජ්‍ය අමාත්‍ය ගමගෙදර දිසානායක, අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය ලේකම් ප්‍රදීප් සපුතන්ත්‍රි, බුද්ධ ශාසන, ආගමික සහ සංස්කෘතික කටයුතු අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ප්‍රින්ස් සේනාධිර, බෞද්ධ කටයුතු කොමසාරිස් ජනරාල් කතුන් වැල්ලහේව ඇතුළු නිලධාරීන් පිරිසක් ද සහභාගී වූහ.

අග්‍රාමාත්‍ය මාධ්‍ය අංශය

Led by nadaswaram music, the Prime Minister walked towards the Vel chariot and respectfully presented the offering tray. Following this, a special religious pooja was conducted by ven. Ramesh Kurukkal on a special platform set up in front of Temple Trees, invoking blessings for the Prime Minister and the country. After the blessing ceremony, accompanied again by traditional nadaswaram music, the Prime Minister was ceremonially escorted back to Temple Trees by the festival’s organizing committee. On this occasion, the Prime Minister expressed her appreciation and gratitude to the organizing committee.

The event was attended by the secretary to the Prime Minister Mr. Pradeep Saputhanthri and officials from the Prime Minister’s Office.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

We have no prior experience of a subject Minister or Secretary coming forward with such a clear understanding to conduct awareness sessions like this...

As the Maha Sangha, we deeply appreciate this dedication...

The Chief incumbent theros of the Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Nikaya and the Ramanna Maha Nikaya emphasized to the Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya that contributing to the new education reforms is not merely a change confined to the education sector, but one that can bring about a constructive transformation for the entire nation, making it a national responsibility of the Maha Sangha.

A special discussion to brief the Chief incumbent of the Amarapura and Ramanna Maha Nikayas about the new education reforms was held on 04th of August at the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya, with the participation of the Prime Minister.

During the event, the Prime Minister and the Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewa, presented a comprehensive explanation to the Chief incumbents on the national significance of the new education reforms, the curriculum structure, assessment procedures, and the intended objectives of the reforms and answered the questions raised by the ven. reverence.

The discussion further highlighted the specific responsibilities carried by the Ministry of Education, the National Institute of Education, the National Education Commission, the Department of Educational Publications, and the Department of Examinations, and emphasized the need for close and effective collaboration among these institutions in the implementation of the reforms.

The Maha Sangha also shared their views regarding necessary changes in Pirivena education, Dhamma school education, and the preschool education system with stressing the importance of providing greater opportunities to teach second languages in schools through the new reforms.

Moreover, the Chief incumbent Thero appreciated the clarity and commitment shown by the Prime Minister and Secretary Nalaka Kaluwewa in explaining the reforms with such depth of understanding, a rare occurrence in past experiences. They also offered their blessings and commendation for their dedication and sincere efforts.

The event was graced by the presence of Mahopadyaya Sahityashuri Most Venerable Ganthune Assaji Maha Nayaka Thero of the Mahanayaka Viharavanshika Amarapura Maha Nikaya, and Aggamahapandita Most Venerable Trincomalee Ananda Maha Nayaka Thero, the Maha Nayaka of the Amarapura Dharmarakshitha Sect, Chief Secretary of the Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Sangha Sabha, Darshanapathi Most Venerable Balapitiye Siriseevali Nayaka Thero representing the Sri Lanka Amarapura Maha Nikaya; and Chief Judicial Sangha Nayaka Aggamahapandita Professor Most Venerable Aththangane Rathanapala Nayaka Thero, Anunayaka Most Venerable Waleboda Gunasiri Nayaka Thero, and Anunayaka and retired Deputy Director of Education Most Venerable Deevela Mahinda Nayaka Thero, Chief Secretary of the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya, Shastrapathi Most Venerable Aththangane Sasanarathana Nayaka Thero representing the Sri Lanka Ramanna Maha Nikaya, along with other Maha Nayaka Theros from both Nikayas. The occasion was also attended by Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education Madhura Senewiratne, Additional Secretary of Educational Services at the Ministry of Education Kamal Ariyasena, and several other distinguished officials.

Prime Minister’s Media Division

Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, received His Excellency Paul Stephens, High Commissioner of Australia to Sri Lanka, for a farewell call at the Prime Minister’s Office on 4 August 2025.

Welcoming the High Commissioner, the Prime Minister expressed appreciation for his significant contributions in strengthening bilateral relations during his tenure. The High Commissioner commended the Government’s recent initiatives and reaffirmed Australia’s continued support for Sri Lanka’s development efforts.

During the discussion, the Prime Minister elaborated on the Government’s priorities, including strengthening institutional arrangements, reviving previously stalled projects, and the transformative potential of the ongoing education reform project. In response, the High Commissioner acknowledged the importance of such reforms, and reiterated the Australian Government’s support for Sri Lanka’s development initiatives.

The meeting was attended by senior officials from both sides. The Australian delegation included Ms. Lalita Kapur, Deputy High Commissioner, Ms. Sophie Gordon, First Secretary (Development), and Mr. Matthew Lord, Second Secretary (Political) of the Australian High Commission. The Sri Lankan delegation included Mr. Pradeep Saputhanthri, Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Ms. Thiloma Abayajeewa, Deputy Director of the East Asia Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism.

Prime Minister’s Media Division