JAKARTA : The newly appointed Ambassador-designate of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri
Lanka to the Republic of Indonesia, Sashikala Premawardhane officially assumed duties at
the Mission on 21 November 2025.
Her assumption of duties was marked by a simple ceremony that began with religious
observances by the religious representatives from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam &
Christianity.
Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador-designate Sashikala Premawardhane set out her plans
for strengthening bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and emphasised the
need for vigorous promotion of trade and investment between the two countries.
Ambassador-designate Premawardhane served as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner to
Singapore from June 2019 to September 2023. Prior to arriving in Indonesia, she served as
the Additional Secretary, Political Affairs (East) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and
Foreign Employment & Tourism in Colombo.
Her appointments at the Foreign Ministry in Sri Lanka also include serving as Director
General, Policy Planning and Research, a position she held from January 2019 onwards. She
also set up and served as the first Director General of the Ocean Affairs, Environment and
Climate Change division of the Foreign Ministry from March 2017 to January 2019 and has
held several other appointments including Director/United Nations, Multilateral Affairs,
Human Rights and Conferences, Director/Technical Cooperation, and Deputy
Director/Economic Affairs. She was on secondment at the Ministry of Defence as Senior
Assistant Secretary (Foreign Affairs) from 2012-2017.
Overseas, Ambassador-designate Premawardhane has served as Minister at the Sri Lanka
High Commission in Canberra from 2009-2012 and as Acting High Commissioner of Sri
Lanka in Australia from December 2010 to July 2011. She also served in the Sri Lanka
Embassy in Tokyo as First Secretary from 2001-2004. She has represented Sri Lanka at
numerous international conferences, seminars and symposia and been a member of the Sri
Lanka delegation on several bilateral, regional and multilateral engagements.
Ambassador-designate Premawardhane holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the
University of Pune, In midia and a Master’s degree in Conflict and Peace Studies from the
University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. She is a past pupil of Bishop’s College, Colombo.
