COLOMBO : Veteran career diplomat P M Amza, who concluded his stint as Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia recently, has been appointed to head the Sri Lanka Mission in Moscow as its Charge De Affaires, CDA.
Ambassador Amza is scheduled to take up his assignment in Moscow shortly, according to sources from the foreign ministry in Colombo.
Amza has had an illustrious career spanning over 30 years in the diplomatic service, having served as Sri Lankaās Ambassador to European Union, Belgium,Ā Turkey and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He also heldĀ diplomatic assignmentĀ in Cairo , Singapore, Chennai , London and Berlin.Ā
He wasĀ credited for weathering the hostile Tamil Nudu environment during the last stage of the Ealem War when he functioned as Sri Lankaās Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai during 2006 to 2009.Ā
During his assignments in London and Brussels, due to his intense lobbying, he was able cultivate several MPs , Lords and MEPs and as a result they supported Sri Lanka in several ways including making positive remarks at the parliamentary debates. The fact that he was hosted to farewell reception at the House of Commons by the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) Sri Lanka and participation of several Loads and MPs at the event at the end of his term in London is testimony for his popularity at that time.
During his assignment in Turkey he was instrumental in first foreign minister visit to Sri Lanka and convening of the first session of the joint commission between the two countries.
During his assignment in Riyadh the Saudi – Sri Lanka relations has seen positive vibes and remarkable enhancement . The first ever bilateral foreign ministerial visit from the Kingdom took place during his stint as Ambassador and over a dozen of ministerial visits from Colombo to Riyadh and vice versa including the two visits of Sri Lanka Foreign Minister to the Kingdom also took place during this period. The first Session of Joint Commission which identified 63 areas for further cooperation, signing of four agreements and concluding two more agreements and several high level visits including the visit of the Saudi Minister of Economy & Planning to Sri lanka and the drawing of the road map for economic cooperation as a result of this visit all happened during his stint as the Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom has also emerged as the number one destination for foreign employment for Sri Lankans generating 63,000 employment in the year 2023. The export of Sri Lanka during this period was swelled by 19 percent.
Ambassador Amza also held higher position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs such as Additional Secretary Economic Affairs, Chief of Protocol and Director General. Prior to joining Sri Lanka Foreign Service in 1994 Amza functioned as Assistant Director of Education being member of Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service.
Amza ās appointment the Sri Lanka Mission in Moscow will see a career diplomat heading the mission in many years .