{"id":86655,"date":"2022-02-16T05:02:09","date_gmt":"2022-02-16T05:02:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?p=86655"},"modified":"2022-02-16T05:02:43","modified_gmt":"2022-02-16T05:02:43","slug":"a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/","title":{"rendered":"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 class=\"h2\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 24px; color: #800000;\">A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-86637\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png\" alt=\"CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF Sri Lanka-Australia Relations\" width=\"600\" height=\"350\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Source<\/strong><\/span>:<span style=\"color: #000080;\"><a style=\"color: #000080;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.75yearsaustraliasrilanka.com\/75\/a-story-to-tell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> Australian Department of Foreign Affairs &amp; Trade<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">In \u00a0February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation. We immediately communicated the news to \u00a0Australia\u2019s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and inquired if the trip could be made into an official state visit &#8211; after all, that year marked \u00a0the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and \u00a0Sri Lanka, and it was over 60 years since a Sri Lankan PM had made an \u00a0official state visit to Australia. The request was well received, and the dates were fixed for February.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Earlier, the High \u00a0Commission learnt that Sri Lanka Cricket had confirmed a brief tour to \u00a0Australia for a three-match T-20 series in February 2017. It is a richly \u00a0preserved tradition in Australia for the PM to host foreign teams on a full \u00a0tour at the Manuka Oval in Canberra to an invitation game against the Prime \u00a0Minister\u2019s XI (up-and-coming grade cricketers across the states). We were \u00a0delighted that Cricket Australia and the PM\u2019s office agreed to host our \u00a0national team in the spirit of commemorating the 70th Anniversary \u00a0of diplomatic relations despite it not being a full tour.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-86659\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/A-story-to-tell-e1644987389548.png\" alt=\"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation. We immediately communicated the news to Australia\u2019s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and inquired if the trip could be made into an official state visit - after all, that year marked the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Sri Lanka, and it was over 60 years since a Sri Lankan PM had made an official state visit to Australia. The request was well received, and the dates were fixed for February. Earlier, the High Commission learnt that Sri Lanka Cricket had confirmed a brief tour to Australia for a three-match T-20 series in February 2017. It is a richly preserved tradition in Australia for the PM to host foreign teams on a full tour at the Manuka Oval in Canberra to an invitation game against the Prime Minister\u2019s XI (up-and-coming grade cricketers across the states). We were delighted that Cricket Australia and the PM\u2019s office agreed to host our national team in the spirit of commemorating the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations despite it not being a full tour.\" width=\"600\" height=\"420\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Seeing both PMs, together with His \u00a0Excellency the Governor General and Lady Cosgrove, observe the toss at the aforementioned invitation game on 15 February was a moment carved into the history of the relations between our \u00a0two countries.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-86658\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/A-story-to-tell2-e1644987426262.png\" alt=\"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation. We immediately communicated the news to Australia\u2019s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and inquired if the trip could be made into an official state visit - after all, that year marked the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Sri Lanka, and it was over 60 years since a Sri Lankan PM had made an official state visit to Australia. The request was well received, and the dates were fixed for February. Earlier, the High Commission learnt that Sri Lanka Cricket had confirmed a brief tour to Australia for a three-match T-20 series in February 2017. It is a richly preserved tradition in Australia for the PM to host foreign teams on a full tour at the Manuka Oval in Canberra to an invitation game against the Prime Minister\u2019s XI (up-and-coming grade cricketers across the states). We were delighted that Cricket Australia and the PM\u2019s office agreed to host our national team in the spirit of commemorating the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations despite it not being a full tour.\" width=\"600\" height=\"406\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">These fortunate coincidences \u00a0heralded auspiciously our 70th anniversary, and before a \u00a0packed Parliament House, PMs Turnbull and Wickremasinghe toasted the \u00a0relationship as one built on\u00a0\u201cmutual respect and trust\u201d. A \u00a0blood donation programme was organized in collaboration with the Australian \u00a0Red Cross Society for Canberra\u2019s Sri Lankan community to commemorate the \u00a0anniversary on 29\u00a0April. Moreover, at the \u00a0Parliament of Australia, the 150th anniversary of our tea industry was \u00a0celebrated with members attending from both houses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-86657\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/A-story-to-tell3-e1644987465937.png\" alt=\"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation. We immediately communicated the news to Australia\u2019s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and inquired if the trip could be made into an official state visit - after all, that year marked the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Sri Lanka, and it was over 60 years since a Sri Lankan PM had made an official state visit to Australia. The request was well received, and the dates were fixed for February. Earlier, the High Commission learnt that Sri Lanka Cricket had confirmed a brief tour to Australia for a three-match T-20 series in February 2017. It is a richly preserved tradition in Australia for the PM to host foreign teams on a full tour at the Manuka Oval in Canberra to an invitation game against the Prime Minister\u2019s XI (up-and-coming grade cricketers across the states). We were delighted that Cricket Australia and the PM\u2019s office agreed to host our national team in the spirit of commemorating the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations despite it not being a full tour.\" width=\"600\" height=\"452\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">The 70th Anniversary was also marked by the first-ever\u00a0State visit by a \u00a0President of Sri Lanka, just three months after the PM\u2019s.\u00a0For Australia to host a Prime \u00a0Minister and a President of a country within such a short space of time was almost \u00a0unprecedented in their history of foreign relations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Australian \u00a0Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop made reciprocal visits to Sri Lanka later that year. The visit led to the signing of meaningful agreements of mutual interest, including \u00a0assistance for dengue control, a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement, cooperation \u00a0to counter human trafficking, prevention of chronic kidney diseases, mineral \u00a0mapping of Sri Lanka and sports development.\u00a0The recommencement of Sri Lankan Airlines direct \u00a0flights to Melbourne after two years of lobbying by the High Commission was another \u00a0significant achievement that increased exponentially the number of Australian \u00a0tourist arrivals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-86656\" src=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/A-story-to-tell4-e1644987500292.png\" alt=\"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation. We immediately communicated the news to Australia\u2019s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and inquired if the trip could be made into an official state visit - after all, that year marked the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations between Australia and Sri Lanka, and it was over 60 years since a Sri Lankan PM had made an official state visit to Australia. The request was well received, and the dates were fixed for February. Earlier, the High Commission learnt that Sri Lanka Cricket had confirmed a brief tour to Australia for a three-match T-20 series in February 2017. It is a richly preserved tradition in Australia for the PM to host foreign teams on a full tour at the Manuka Oval in Canberra to an invitation game against the Prime Minister\u2019s XI (up-and-coming grade cricketers across the states). We were delighted that Cricket Australia and the PM\u2019s office agreed to host our national team in the spirit of commemorating the 70th Anniversary of diplomatic relations despite it not being a full tour.\" width=\"600\" height=\"461\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">Unfortunately, \u00a0the end of my tenure was marred by the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter Bombings which shattered \u00a0dreams and destroyed lives back at home. The Australians understood our grief \u00a0and empathised with us as our own kin. The first to sign the book of \u00a0condolence at the High Commission was the Governor General himself who \u00a0arrived at the Mission that very afternoon. A community farewell for me \u00a0scheduled for that evening was converted to a multi-faith service at the \u00a0famous Saint Christopher\u2019s Roman Catholic Cathedral<em>.\u00a0<\/em>Notwithstanding \u00a0the short notice, the Governor General graced that event as well.<em>\u00a0<\/em>As \u00a0I accompanied His Excellency down the aisle to the front pew in a Church \u00a0packed to capacity, the congregation at the solemn event appreciated the \u00a0depth of the relationship between our two countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">On \u00a030 April 2019, my final day in office, I met with my wonderful staff for one \u00a0last time. After singing the National Anthem at 9am (as was \u00a0customary) I was deeply touched by the unexpected arrival of the Head of the \u00a0Sri Lanka Buddhist Vihara to bestow a final blessing before I left for the airport.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\">As the connecting flight from Canberra to Melbourne \u00a0took to the skies, I looked at the vast expanse of land beneath, and \u00a0reflected on the generous hearts and minds I left behind. The memories I accumulated during my term in Australia will \u00a0be cherished for a lifetime!<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 16px; color: #000000;\"><em>Somasundaram Skandakumar was Sri Lanka\u2019s High Commissioner to Australia from 2015-2019.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR Source: Australian Department of Foreign Affairs &amp; Trade In \u00a0February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":86637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"aside","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[41930,4701,30318,1851,29213],"class_list":{"0":"post-86655","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-aside","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-articles","8":"tag-julie-bishop","9":"tag-malcolm-turnbull","10":"tag-ranil-wickremasinghe","11":"tag-sri-lanka-cricket","12":"tag-sri-lankan-high-commission-in-australia","13":"post_format-post-format-aside"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.7.1 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR - eLanka<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eLanka\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-02-16T05:02:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-02-16T05:02:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"eLanka admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\"},\"headline\":\"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-16T05:02:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-16T05:02:43+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/\"},\"wordCount\":740,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png\",\"keywords\":[\"Julie Bishop\",\"Malcolm Turnbull\",\"Ranil Wickremasinghe\",\"Sri Lanka Cricket\",\"Sri Lankan High\u00a0Commission in Australia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Articles\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/\",\"name\":\"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR - eLanka\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-02-16T05:02:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-02-16T05:02:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":350,\"caption\":\"CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF Sri Lanka-Australia Relations\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"description\":\"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization\",\"name\":\"eLanka\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg\",\"width\":192,\"height\":82,\"caption\":\"eLanka\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd\",\"name\":\"eLanka admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"eLanka admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR - eLanka","description":"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR","og_description":"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation.","og_url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/","og_site_name":"eLanka","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","article_published_time":"2022-02-16T05:02:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-02-16T05:02:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"eLanka admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"eLanka admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/"},"author":{"name":"eLanka admin","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd"},"headline":"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR","datePublished":"2022-02-16T05:02:09+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-16T05:02:43+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/"},"wordCount":740,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png","keywords":["Julie Bishop","Malcolm Turnbull","Ranil Wickremasinghe","Sri Lanka Cricket","Sri Lankan High\u00a0Commission in Australia"],"articleSection":["Articles"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/","name":"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR - eLanka","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png","datePublished":"2022-02-16T05:02:09+00:00","dateModified":"2022-02-16T05:02:43+00:00","description":"In February 2017, my team and I at the Sri Lankan High Commission in Australia was informed that then-Prime Minister (PM) Ranil Wickremasinghe had been invited to deliver the keynote address and accept an honorary doctorate at the Deakin Law School graduation.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/CELEBRATING-75-YEARS-OF6-e1644981068228.png","width":600,"height":350,"caption":"CELEBRATING 75 YEARS OF Sri Lanka-Australia Relations"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/a-story-to-tell-by-somasundaram-skandakumar\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/category\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"A story to tell by SOMASUNDARAM SKANDAKUMAR"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#website","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","name":"eLanka","description":"eLanka - Sri lanka events in Australia","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#organization","name":"eLanka","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/elanka-logo.jpg","width":192,"height":82,"caption":"eLanka"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eLanka.com.au\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/elanka\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SriLankanDownUnder"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/f6e635b74ab35ef88a68a9973cacc5bd","name":"eLanka admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/2e0d346a7f97b80e861cdeafe7b7de523b59f5060666f1a5da8369457bf9b6c3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"eLanka admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew"],"url":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/author\/elanka\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86655"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86660,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86655\/revisions\/86660"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/websitedesigns.com.au\/elankanew\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}