Ambassador Malraj de Silva presented Letters of Credence to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai at the Qasr Al Watan Presidential Palace.
The presentation of credentials was followed by a courtesy call on His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum during which the Ambassador conveyed greetings from His Excellency Gotabhaya Rajapakse, President of Sri Lanka, Honourable Mahinda Rajapakse, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka and the People of Sri Lanka to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, 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 best friend status.
Saqr Ghobash, Speaker of Federal National Council; His Highness Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation 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 & Consulate staff.
Ambassador, Malraj De Silva is a carrier 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.
