RIYADH, 4 September 2004 — Sri Lankan Consul General in Jeddah A.J.M. Sadiq has been appointed ambassador to Saudi Arabia to succeed Ibrahim Sahib Ansar who will be leaving the Kingdom soon on completion of his ambassadorial tenure.
Sadiq, who has been in foreign service for 16 years, holds ambassadorial rank as head of the Jeddah mission. Prior to his posting to the consulate, Sadiq was director of publicity in the island’s Foreign Ministry. In 1990, Colombo assigned him as a member of the special task force to help repatriate Sri Lankans in Kuwait during the Gulf War. He had also served in Paris, Islamabad and Kuwait.
Ambassador Ansar’s term, which ends at the end of the year, had witnessed an exchange of high-level visits and a series of events to strengthen ties between the Kingdom and Sri Lanka. Shoura Council Chairman Saleh Bin-Humaid’s visit to Sri Lanka was reciprocated with the visit of the island’s Parliament Speaker Joseph Michael Perera to Riyadh. Accords such as General Agreement and Unified Contract on Recruitment were signed between the two countries and the Kingdom also offered SR80 million in soft loans for building a neuro trauma center and a bridge in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, on an invitation from Haj Minister Iyad Madani, a high-level delegation headed by the island’s governor for Western Province and Presidential Adviser on Muslim Affairs Seyed Alavi Mowlana will arrive in the Kingdom today. The governor will be accompanied by the Minister for Eastern Infrastructure Development, A.L.M. Athaullah and three senior officials from the Department of Islamic Affairs in Colombo.
“In addition to meeting Madani, the visiting team will hold discussions on Haj-related matters with relevant establishments in Makkah and Madinah,” Ambassador Ansar told Arab News. He said that some 6,000 pilgrims are expected to perform Haj during the forthcoming season. At the end of these discussions, the envoy said, the two governments will sign the Haj agreement which would facilitate the smooth flow of Lankan pilgrims to and from the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah and ensure their welfare during their stay in the Kingdom.
