Ambassador Shobini Gunasekera hosted an official lunch at her Residence to bid farewell to Defence Attaché of the Embassy Gp Capt Sanoj Jayaratne on 12th September, 2025.

Defence Attaches from India, Pakistan, Turkey, Canada, Republic of Korea, US, Bangladesh, Japan, and Peru, as well as officials from the Ministry of Defence of Russian Federation attended the event.
Ambassador Gunasekera in her speech acknowledged the services extended by Gp Capt Sanoj Jayaratne in his capacity as the Counsellor, Defence, and highlighted his significant contribution to strengthening not only bilateral but also multilateral relations between different nations, which was attested by the audience, gathered at the table.
During his tenure in Russia, after a long break, Sri Lanka was able to send 12 officers for training at the higher education institutions of the Russian Ministry of Defence. He was instrumental in organising several high level visits of Sri Lankan military delegations to Russia, including the visits of the Secretary, Defence, and Commander of the Sri Lankan Air Force. There was also a significant progress achieved in developing the military-technical cooperation between Sri Lanka and Russia. Invited Defence attachés praised Gp Capt Jayaratne's active role in the life of international diplomatic military community in Moscow as the President of the MAMA's Asian division.
Representatives of the Russian Ministry of Defence and the military-diplomatic corps expressed their gratitude to Gp Capt Sanoj Jayaratne for his service and wished him all the best in his future endeavours.
Group Captain Sanoj Ruchira Jayaratne will complete his two-year term of duty in the Russian Federation on September 30, 2025.