 |
| Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa with Pope Francis (defence.lk) |
The Sri Lankan Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, was granted an audience with Pope Francis.
The Pope received Gotabhaya, who was visiting as the special envoy of his brother, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, at the Vatican, along with his wife Ioma Rajapaksa, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the Holy See Ravinatha Ariyasinghe, the Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Rome Bennet Cooray, the Commander of the Navy Vice Admiral Jayanath Colombage and Chairman of the Urban Development Authority Nimal Perera.
The visit has been widely publicised on Sri Lankan media, including on the Defence Ministry's website.