Sunday, August 23 2026
Sunday, August 23 2026
CLOSE TIES: Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath in ASEAN handshake with diplomats, and Cinnamon Lake Manager
MONETABRIEF - Food and culture transcends borders to bring people together, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said, inaugurating an ASEAN cuisine week in Colombo at the Cinnamon Lakeside hotel.
"Food and culture have a unique ability to transcend borders and bring people together," Minister Herath said Friday at the start of the festival.
"Through sharing our culinary traditions and cultural heritage, we gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of one another."
"As the Minister responsible also for Tourism, I particularly welcome initiatives of this nature.
"The cultural and culinary diversity of ASEAN, together with Sri Lanka’s own rich heritage, provides enormous potential for developing stronger tourism links and encouraging our peoples to discover each other's countries."
Diplomatic Missions from Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam, organized the festival with Cinnamon Lakeside to mark with the ASEAN Day, when the organization was founded in August 08, 59 years ago.
"Cuisine is an important part of culture and identity," Vietnam Ambassador Trinh Thi Tam who is the Chair of the ASEAN Diplomatic missions in Colombo said.
"Each ASEAN country has its own flavours and traditions. When we bring them together here, we also celebrate the diversity and richness of ASEAN as a whole.
"Through this event, we hope to bring the people of ASEAN and Sri Lanka closer, promote mutual understanding and create new opportunities for tourism, trade and investment."
Sri Lanka attached great importance to its longstanding and friendly relations with ASEAN and its Member States, Minister Herath said.
"Our engagement with Southeast Asia is not new," he said. "It is deeply rooted in centuries of historical, religious, cultural and commercial exchanges.
"These enduring connections provide a strong foundation for expanding our contemporary cooperation in trade and investment, tourism, education, connectivity, technology and many other areas of mutual interest."
Chefs from the countries were at the hotel to prepare dishes with authentic flavours and also train their local colleagues.
Vietnam Chef Nguyen Van Thong said he was also teaching Vietnam dishes not just to colleagues in Sri Lanka but also to others in ASEAN countries.
(Colombo/Aug22/2026)
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